UConn Men's Basketball

The Register's UConn basketball blog has moved

2009-09-03T09:39:00.001-04:00

The Register's UConn basketball blog has moved.
Please read all the latest Huskies' news here.

Male Bonding

2009-07-27T09:37:00.004-04:00

Here's a feature from today's Register on the friendship Ater Majok and Charles Okwandu have formed over the past year. They share plenty in common: both are big men with lots of raw potential; both had to sit out the final two months of last season (Majok after getting cleared to enroll at UConn by the NCAA, Okwandu after being declared academically ineligible by the school); both wound up such defensive presences on the practice squad that only one was allowed on the court at the same time while the Huskies were practicing their offense; and, of course, both share African heritage (Majok from Sudan, Okwandu from Nigeria).

Actually, the latter doesn't mean as much as I thought it might.

"Even if (Okwandu) was Chinese or anything ... brothers can be from anywhere," Majok said.

The two are also on the same Greater Hartford Pro-Am summer league team, the Springfield Slamm. Big Chuck has been sidelined for about a week after having his ankle stepped on in a game. It's just precautionary, and he's expected to return to the court for the Slamm's next game, on Friday at 8:15 p.m. against Ryan Gomes and Harte Nissan at the Sport & Medical Sciences Academy in Hartford. Should be a good test for both Majok and Okwandu.

One other thing: I was reminded while chatting with a UConn fan that Majok has similarities with Charlie Villanueva. Certainly, his propensity to shoot 3's (at least in the pro-am) remind some of a young Villanueva, who also apparently was in love with the 3 at first. Well, UConn's coaching staff recognizes this similarity. They don't mind Majok hoisting up an occasional trey, but they want to start their game inside. Remember, last year the Huskies made more free throws than their opponents attempted!

Majok should get a chance to showcase his perimeter skills from time to time. On the Huskies' secondary fast break, the four-man trails. So, Majok will have the chance to spot up and pop some 3's.

So Nice He's Named Trice

2009-07-25T08:36:00.003-04:00

Here's a mini-feature from today's Register on Jamaal Trice, who could be a pleasant surprise for the Huskies over the next few years. Some say Trice is a defensive specialist, some a shooter. Trice believes he's a slashing-type player. UConn assistant coach Patrick Sellers calls him a "bigger Jerome (Dyson)."

No doubt, the Huskies are glad to have him. And Trice is glad to be here. He spurned visits to other programs after his Dec. 29 visit to Storrs "because nothing gets better than (UConn)."

Then he committed on New Year's Eve.

"I had to start the New Year off good," Trice said.

A Strange, Sad Story

2009-07-24T17:20:00.003-04:00

Growing up a college basketball fan in Rhode Island, and eventually attending URI, one of my favorite players was Kenny Green. A 6-9 shot-blocking fool, Green (a Waterbury native) was a freshman sensation on the Rams' surprise Sweet 16 team in 1988. After the Rams advanced past the first two rounds and the team plane arrived at T.F. Greene Airport, a banner with the name "Kenny" was placed over the T.F., temporarily changing the name of the airport to "Kenny Greene Airport."

Anyway, I loved me some Kenny Green. Reading this story on Green from a Middle Eastern newspaper's website is both shocking and sad. Never mind the strange grammar, which seems to be a result of some poor translation (i.e., it reports that Green's "mum" had "prostrate" cancer). The fact that Green has fallen on terrible times, a result of trying to help out his ailing (and now deceased) mother, is sad to read about.

Darius Smith Can Play

2009-07-23T23:15:00.004-04:00

Took in the lone game at the Greater Hartford Pro-Am this evening and watched the Springfield Slamm (featuring UConn freshmen Darius Smith and Ater Majok) defeat the Mizner All-Stars, 104-88.

Majok and Smith didn't get to leave campus until about 15 minutes before the game was supposed to start and didn't arrive at Hartford's Sport & Medical Sciences Academy until about five minutes were left in the first quarter. They didn't enter the game until the second quarter and both looked a bit rusty early on after the long drive. In fact, neither scored a point in the first half.

The latter half was a different story.

Majok looked pretty good, knocking down a few long-range jumpers, making a few nice passes and displaying some impressive athleticism for a 6-foot-10 player. He committed five fouls and made a few poor decisions (at one point dribbling the ball behind his back deftly at midcourt, only to throw away a long pass) but overall was fine. He scored eight points.

Smith was simply magnificent. He scored 15 points on a variety of drives to the lane, a couple of jumpers, even a putback of a Majok missed fallaway jumper:

Smith is quick, intense and energetic. He's non-stop on defense and pushes the ball well on offense. He's an excellent ballhandler and just looks fundamentally sound at everything he does. Smith could stand to get a little stronger, but otherwise, there's a lot to like here.

Here's a couple more clips of Smith (No. 31) and Majok (No. 32) in action:

Smith finished with 15 points to spearhead the win.

Also, Charles Okwandu (normally on the Slamm team) didn't make the trip due to a sore ankle. Jonathan Mandeldove was in the house and said that he's waiting on a grade from summer school to see if he's OK academically. Jim Calhoun told me last week that Mandeldove's status for this upcoming season was "up in the air" due to academic issues.

Some Pro-Am Chatter

2009-07-23T11:48:00.006-04:00

Went over to the Greater Hartford Pro-Am last night at the Sport & Medical Sciences Academy in Hartford. As always, some good run on display, particularly last night's nightcap between Ryan Gomes' Harte Nissan against All Axxess Entertainment.

Gomes was terrific, as one would expect from a double-figures NBA scorer. What most impressed me, however, was his competitiveness. He hit a terrific driving layup while being fouled with less than 30 seconds left, and went to the free throw line. After knocking down the foul shot to give his team a fairly insurmountable five-point lead, Gomes pumped his fist in joy.

Here's the top scorer in Providence College basketball history (and, of course, subject of one of Jim Calhoun's greatest rants), who averaged about 13 ppg. for the Minnesota Timberwolves last year, and he's pumped and excited about winning a summer league basketball game.

"Every time you step on the floor, you want to win," Gomes said. "It's about competitiveness. I missed a lot of free throws, too, so when I made one, I was excited."

Gomes, a Waterbury native, has been playing in this league for every year but one since about his sophomore year at PC. He loves coming back every summer.

"It's nice, and it's great competition, that's why I like to come back and play," said Gomes, who has homes in both Minnesota and Waterbury. "I play here and I play in a league in New York City, so every day I've got a game to play. I like coming back here so some of my family members who don't travel to Minnesota get to see me play. And I like playing against these guys ... it's good coming back and playing with those guys, give them motivation and work on my game, also. I get a little conditioning."

Gomes has another year on his contract with the T'wolves, after which the team could exercise an option, or he could become a free agent. Will he evere be a teammate of Ricky Rubio?

"I don't know. Our general manager went over there (Tuesday), I think, to try to work on a deal to see if he can come over this year. If not, the good thing about it is, we'll still have his rights when he does decide to come over. But the buyout is such a large number. Do you wait another year and it becomes lower?"

Can Rubio play?

"I think he can. He has a lot of flash and flair to his game. I think he can help us because he's a great passer. You can't teach that kind of stuff. Shooting, yeah, but when you can see the court, he'll help us out getting a lot of guys get shots. Especially guys like me, so I'd love to have him."

***Yes, I know, this is a UConn blog. There's one pro-am game tonight at 8:15 p.m. between the Springfield Slamm and the Mizner All-Stars. UConn's Ater Majok and Charles Okwandu play for the Slamm (though Okwandu has been slowed recently by an ankle injury).

Huskies-Vols Start in 2010-11

2009-07-22T11:08:00.002-04:00

UConn and Tennessee will begin a two-game series starting in the 2010-11 season. The Huskies and Vols will meet in Connecticut that season, then meet in Knoxville in 2011-12.

"This is a great intersectional series for us to add to our future schedules," said UConn head coach Jim Calhoun. "It will be an exciting match-up of styles and players, something fans of both teams can look forward to. For us, it continues our tradition of trying to schedule some of the best teams in the country, such as this year, where we will play at Michigan (Jan. 17) and Texas at home (Jan. 23), as well as Kentucky (Dec. 9) in New York and also the Pre-Season NIT."

The remainder of UConn's 2009-10 non-conference schedule will be released within the next few weeks and the complete 2009-10 schedule is expected to be released in late August or early September.

Majok Could Have Major Impact

2009-07-20T11:09:00.004-04:00

Brought the family up to Toronto this weekend to catch the Sox-Blue Jays on Sunday (Roy Halladay's last game in a Jays uniform?), and just got the good news for UConn fans that Ater Majok will play for the Huskies this season.

Obviously, this is good news for the Huskies. Majok may not have overly impressed NBA scouts, but they all agree on his potential and upside. He has talent, he's 6-foot-10 with about a 7-2 wingspan, and he's a bright kid with the capacity to learn under Jim Calhoun & staff -- who have done a pretty good job developing big men over the years.

With Majok in the fold, UConn boasts a talented -- if inexperienced -- front line. As it stands now, vastly improved 7-footer Charles Okwandu would be the Huskies' starting center and 6-9 senior Gavin Edwards the power forward. But both could be pushed by Alex Oriakhi, the 6-9, 245-pound freshman who's been favorably compared, physically, to ex-Providence reboundin' fool Michael Smith, and now Majok. (We're not counting 7-foot senior Jonathan Mandeldove right now because he played a grand total of 16 minutes last year and may not even play this season due to academic issues).

UConn's backcourt will be its strength next year. The questions will reside in the frontcourt. The Huskies will be young up front -- but there's little question they'll also be very talented.

UConn-Tennessee ... on Men's Side?

2009-07-16T22:43:00.015-04:00

Will Calhoun vs. Pearl replace Geno vs. Summit as the defining rivalry between UConn and the University of Tennessee?

While the UConn-Tennessee women's basketball rivalry may be on ice, the respective men's teams may start up a rivalry of their own this season.

According to a well-placed university source, the Huskies are looking to host Pearl and his Volunteers this season, shoring up what's already a tough non-conference schedule for UConn. It would be just the second time the two programs have ever met in men's basketball. Tennessee topped UConn, 65-51, in an NCAA South Regional second round game on March 19, 2000 in Birmingham, Ala.

The game, which hasn't been finalized yet, would likely be played late in the season.

The Huskies will also play in the preseason National Invitational Tournament (where they could end up playing Duke) and will play Kentucky at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 9 as part of the third annual SEC/Big East Invitational. They will also travel to Michigan for a bout with the Wolverines.

In other UConn news:

***Little-used 7-foot senior center Jonathan Mandeldove has some academic issues, and it's "up in the air" whether he'll play for the Huskies this season, according to UConn coach Jim Calhoun.

***Calhoun said he is "95 percent" sure that Ater Majok will remain at UConn and forego heading over to Europe to play professionally. Majok would be eligible to play for the Huskies in mid-December.

***Calhoun attended Rip Hamilton's wedding in Boca Raton last week. Kevin Freeman was in the wedding party, and Khalid El-Amin was the only member of the 1999 national championship team's starting five that wasn't in attendance.

Also present: Tom Moore, Dave Leitao and Karl Hobbs, among others. (Presumably, Josh Nochimson wasn't there. Sorry, couldn't resist).

***If anyone's wondering why prized, 6-9 recruit Andre Drummond of Capital Prep hasn't been playing in the Greater Hartford Pro-Am this week, it's because he's traveling with an AAU team.

Dyson Pours in 50

2009-07-15T23:20:00.010-04:00

Jerome Dyson went all Bernard King on us and dropped 50 points in a Greater Hartford Pro-Am league game Wednesday night at the Sports & Medical Science Academy in Hartford.

"He's officially back!" emcee Ashon "Chewy" Avent shouted into the mic -- while also pointing out that Dyson would have had about 60 if he had made his free throws.

Dyson looked good, slashing to the hole and knocking down 3-pointers (although he missed a trey with about 2 seconds left that would have sent the game to overtime. Dyson's Next Level lost to the Mizner All-Stars, 94-81).

We've got some video evidence of Dyson's impressive night that further proves he is pretty much, indeed, "officially back" from the torn meniscus in his right knee that ended his season in mid-February.

Here is perhaps Dyson's most impressive sequence of the night. He glides in to finish off a layup. Then, after a missed shot on the other end of the floor, Dyson (No. 15) takes the ball at midcourt, drives in, makes a nice mid-air move for a layup and gets the foul. Dyson pumps his first with true emotion after making the layup and getting the whistle:

Here's a nice move in the corner by Dyson, a drive to the hoop and a foul:

Finally, here's our boy dropping a nice dime to a teammate:

Despite the above evidence, Dyson says he's not quite 100 percent yet.

"I'm still not jumping off my right leg as well as I was (before the injury)," he said. "I'm not all the way there yet, but my conditioning is getting there."

Dyson was cleared to play about 2 1/2 weeks ago. He has been spending a lot of time in the weight room, strengthening his leg. Right now, his leg is about "85-percent, strength-wise," and he's got to keep strengthening his hamstring and quad.

As for getting over a mental hurdle?

"I felt like I was over that the first day. I was going hard the first time I got on the court, so it really hasn't affected me too much ... as you saw today."

Yes, we did.

***In other news, Dyson's former UConn and current pro-am league teammate, Doug Wiggins, is still pondering his options after being booted off the team at UMass. According to Wiggins, he's considering several NAIA schools -- Campbellsvile (Ky.) and Missouri Baptist, among others. He's had some D-II and III offers, including the University of Bridgeport and Elms College, but says he needs to get away from this area and get a fresh start.

As to why he was kicked off the UMass team, Wiggins claims it was a huge misunderstanding. He said a teammate was involved in a fight with a bouncer at a bar, and that somehow Wiggins' name came up as being involved with the fracas. Wiggins claims he wasn't even there. Nevertheless, according to Wiggins, coupled with a prior infraction of breaking and entering (Wiggins said he had been drinking but thought he was going into a friend's apartment, which looked exactly like countless other apartments in a complex near campus) that was enough for his dismissal.

Who Produces the Best NBA Talent?

2009-07-10T19:47:00.003-04:00

Here's a decent piece sent to me by Patrick Crawley, managing editor of the Basketball Fiend blog. He lists the top 10 collegiate programs in terms of sending players to the NBA, and UConn checks in at No. 1, with 12 players currently in the league (13 with Hasheem Thabeet, and maybe 14 with A.J. Price) and 14 cumulative All-Star appearances. The blog entry was written shortly before the 2009 NBA draft.

Anyway, thought you all might enjoy it:

Which College Program Has Produced the Best Current NBA Talent (A Top 10 List).

Springfield the Place to Be this Weekend

2009-07-10T08:55:00.004-04:00

Many of the top prep players in the country -- many of whom are being recruited by UConn -- will be in Springfield, Mass. this weekend for a pair of BasketBull, LLC tournaments.

Today, the inaugural First Eight tourney will pit the best 17u and 16u travel teams not only from New England but around North America, including Canada.

Here's a small sampling of some of the 17u players who will be in action July 10th. Grassroots Canada Top Players: Tristan Thompson, 6'10 PF, Findlay Prep '10 (committed to Texas; #1 PF in 2010 Scout.com); Myck Kabonga, 6'2 PG, St. Benedict's Prep '11 (committed to Texas; #3 PG in 2011 Scout.com); Dwight Powell, 6'10 PF, IMG Academy '10 (Harvard, Stanford, Vanderbilt, UCLA, Virginia); Cory Joseph, 6'3 PG, Findlay Prep '10 (Ohio St., Georgetown. among others; #7 PG in 2010 Scout.com); JP Kambola, 6'9 PF, St. Benedict's Prep '10 (UConn, Kansas, Rutgers, among others) New England Playaz Top Players: Nate Lubick, 6'8 WF, St. Mark's School '10, (committed to Georgetown; #11 PF ESPN.com); Austin Carroll, 6'4 '10, Brewster Academy '10 (Davidson, Washington St, Fordham, among others); Naadir Tharpe, 6'1 PG, Brewster Academy '11 (Arizona, BC, UConn, Purdue, among others); Dajuan Coleman, 6'9 F/C, Jamesville-Dewitt '12 (Syracuse, UConn; #1 Player in 2012 ESPN.com); Denzel Brito, 6'1 PG, Lawrence Academy '10 (UConn, Stanford, Providence, among others) Mass Rivals Top Players: Carson Desroisers, 6'11 C, Central Catholic HS '10 (Pitt, Syracuse, Stanford, BC; #8 C ESPN.com); Evan Smotrycz, 6'9 F, New Hampton School, '10 (committed to Michigan; #12 PF ESPN.com); Matt Brown, 6'3 Combo Guard, Northfield Mount Hermon '10, (Providence, George Mason, among others); Jordan Laguerre, 6'0 PG, Trinity HS '10, (Patriot League, A-10's) Connecticut Basketball Club Top Players: Majok Majok (Ater's cousin), 6'8 PF, South Kent School '10 (Arkansas, Oklahoma, Providence, among others); Danny Lawhorn, 5'10 PG, Hartford Public HS '10 (committed to: Boston College); Chris Evans, 6'1 G, Taft School '10, (America East, NEC schools); Dominque Langston, 6'3 SG, St. Thomas Moore '10 (Penn St, Rutgers, Quinnipiac, among others New Heights (NY) Top Players: Devon Collier, 6'7 PF, St. Anthony's HS '10, (Memphis, St. John's, UConn, Villanova, among others); Ashton Pankey, 6'7 PF, St. Anthony's HS '10, (Seton Hall, St. John's, Rice, among others); Jayvaughn Pinkston, 6'5 SF, Bishop Laughlin '10, (Louisville, Tennessee, Florida, Memphis, among others); Corey Edwards, 6'0 PG, Christ the King HS '11, (Kentucky, Villanova, St. John's, among others); Hakeem Harris, 6'1 PG, Blair Academy '10, (Davidson, Vanderbilt, Stanford, Harvard, among others); Derrick Williams, 6'6 PF, St. Anthony's HS '10, (Fordham, Miami (FL), Seton Hall, among others) Florida Rams Top Players: Fabricio de Melo, 7'0 F/C, Sagemont HS '10, (UConn, Syracuse, Louisville; #4 C in 2010 ESPN.com); Damien Leonard, 6'4 SG, JL Mann HS '11, (Wake Forest, Clemson, Florida, among others); Tim Hardaway Jr., 6'4 SG, Miami Palmetto HS '10, (Michigan, Minnesota, Florida, among others); Josh Langford, 6'6 WF, J.O. Johnson HS '10, (committed to: Louisville); William Sheehay, 6'5 SG, South Fork HS '10, (Auburn, Stanford, Northeastern, among others); Khyle Marshall, 6'7 F, Flanagan HS '10, (Auburn, Miami (FL), Kansas St., among others) Expressions Elite (MA) Top Players: Billy Baron, 6'2 Combo Guard, Worcester Academy '10, (Rhode Island, A-10's and Patriot League); Tyler Olander, 6'9 F, Worcester Academy '11, (Providence, Vanderbilt, La Salle, and Fairfield); Kaleb Tarczewski, 6'10 C, St. Mark's School '12, (Boston College, Providence, among others) Team Philly Top Players: Tony Chenault, 6'1 PG, Nueman-Goretti '10, (Committed to: Wake Forest); Daniel Stewart, 6'6 WF, Nueman-Goretti '10, (Rutgers. Delaware, St. Joe's, among others); Keith Coleman, 6'8 F, Cheltenham HS '10, (Marquette, Nebraska, among others); Tyrone Garland, 6'0 PG, Bartram John HS '10, (Butler, Temple, Drexel, Nebraska, among others) For further details on the First Eight Tournament, to view the schedule and list of committed teams please follow this link to the tournament webpage: http://www.basketbull.org/tournaments/26/First-Eight.php

On Saturday and Sunday, the National Invitational will feature over 100 teams from all over the country in what's being called the strongest tournament in the northeast during the NCAA "live" period. National programs such as Florida Rams, Grassroots Canada, New Heights, Team Philly, New England Playaz, Hunting Park, Long Island Lightning and many others will converge on the birthplace of basketball for a chance to showcase their skills. Some notable players (17 & Under) participating in the event include:
* Fab Melo (ACC/BIG EAST)
* Josh Langford (Louisville) of the Florida Rams
* Tristan Thompson (Texas)
* Myck Kabongo (Texas)
* Dwight Powell (ACC/BIG EAST) of Grassroots Canada
* Nate Lubick (Georgetown)
* DaJaun Coleman (ACC/BIG EAST)
* Austin Carroll (A-10/BIG EAST)
* Nadir Tharpe (PAC-10/ACC) of NE Playaz
* Tony Chennault (Wake Forest) of Team Philly
* Evan Smotrycz (Michigan)
* Carson Desrosiers (BIG EAST) of Mass Rivals
* Majok Majok (A-10/BIG EAST)
* Andre Drummond (ACC/BIG EAST) of CBC
* Devon Collier (BIG EAST/ACC)
* Jayvaughn Pinkston (BIG EAST)
* Derrick Williams (BIG EAST/A-10) of New Heights
* Billy Baron (A-10) of Expressions
* Tyler Olander (A-10) of Expressions

For further details on the National Invitational and to view the list of committed teams please follow this link to the tournament webpage: http://www.basketbull.org/tournaments/18/Hall-of-Fame-National-Invitatio nal.php

El-Amin Featured in This Week's SI

2009-07-07T17:45:00.008-04:00

Former UConn point guard Khalid El-Amin will be featured in this week's Sports Illustrated "Where Are They Now?" issue, which will update readers about stars from 1959, 1969, 1979, 1989 and, in El-Amin's case, 1999.

As you surely know, El-Amin lasted just 50 games in the NBA after leading the Huskies to their first NCAA tournament title in 1999. He has found success abroad, however, twice earning Turkish league MVP awards during a two-year stint with Besiktas Cola Turka. He earned the same honors in the Ukraine while carrying Azovmash Mariupol to the 2006 national championship.

Big East Announces League Opponents

2009-07-02T21:09:00.001-04:00

Here are the opponents for each Big East team for the 2009-10 season:

CINCINNATI
Home Connecticut , DePaul, Marquette, Notre Dame , Pittsburgh, Providence, USF, Syracuse , Villanova
Away Connecticut, Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, Rutgers, St. John’s, Seton Hall, USF, West Virginia

CONNECTICUT
Home Cincinnati , DePaul, Louisville , Marquette, Notre Dame , Pittsburgh, St. John’s, Seton Hall , West Virginia
Away Cincinnati , Georgetown, Louisville , Notre Dame, Providence, Rutgers, USF, Syracuse , Villanova

DE PAUL
Home Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette , Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s, USF, Syracuse , West Virginia
Away Cincinnati, Connecticut, Marquette , Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Villanova

GEORGETOWN
Home Cincinnati, Connecticut, Notre Dame, Rutgers, St. John’s, Seton Hall, USF, Syracuse , Villanova
Away DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Providence, Rutgers, Syracuse, Villanova , West Virginia

LOUISVILLE
Home Cincinnati, Connecticut , Georgetown, Notre Dame, Rutgers, St. John’s , USF, Syracuse , Villanova
Away Connecticut, DePaul, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Syracuse, West Virginia

MARQUETTE
Home DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Providence , Rutgers, USF, Villanova
Away Cincinnati, Connecticut, DePaul , Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia

NOTRE DAME
Home Cincinnati , Connecticut , DePaul, Pittsburgh, Providence, St. John’s, USF, Syracuse , West Virginia
Away Cincinnati , Connecticut , Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Rutgers, Seton Hall, USF, Villanova

PITTSBURGH
Home DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s , Seton Hall, Villanova , West Virginia
Away Cincinnati, Connecticut, Marquette, Notre Dame, St. John’s, Seton Hall, USF, Syracuse, West Virginia

PROVIDENCE
Home Connecticut, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette , Rutgers, Seton Hall, USF, Syracuse , West Virginia
Away Cincinnati, DePaul, Marquette , Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, St. John’s, USF, Syracuse , Villanova

RUTGERS
Home Cincinnati, Connecticut, DePaul , Georgetown , Notre Dame, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Syracuse , Villanova
Away DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Providence, Seton Hall, USF, West Virginia

ST. JOHN ’S
Home Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, Pittsburgh , Providence, Seton Hall, Villanova , West Virginia
Away Connecticut, DePaul , Georgetown, Louisville , Notre Dame, Pittsburgh , Rutgers, USF, Syracuse

SETON HALL
Home Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh , Rutgers, Syracuse , West Virginia
Away Connecticut, Georgetown, Pittsburgh , Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s, USF, Villanova , West Virginia

USF
Home Cincinnati , Connecticut, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Providence , Rutgers, St. John’s, Seton Hall , West Virginia
Away Cincinnati , DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Providence, Syracuse , Villanova

SYRACUSE
Home Connecticut, Georgetown , Louisville , Marquette, Pittsburgh, Providence , St. John’s , USF, Villanova
Away Cincinnati, DePaul, Georgetown , Louisville, Notre Dame, Providence , Rutgers, Seton Hall , West Virginia

VILLANOVA
Home Connecticut, DePaul, Georgetown , Marquette, Notre Dame, Providence, Seton Hall, USF, West Virginia
Away Cincinnati, Georgetown , Louisville, Marquette , Pittsburgh, Rutgers, St. John’s, Syracuse , West Virginia

WEST VIRGINIA
Home Cincinnati, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Pittsburgh , Rutgers, Seton Hall, Syracuse , Villanova
Away Connecticut, DePaul, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall, USF, Villanova

Each school’s three repeat opponents are in italics

Of Oriakhi and Calipari

2009-07-02T08:23:00.004-04:00

Here's a story from today's Register about UConn freshman Alex Oriakhi, who is finally a UConn student after committing to the school nearly three years ago, when he was 16. Like Emeka Okafor, Oriakhi was born in the U.S., but both his parents were born in Nigeria. One of the main reasons his father wanted him to come to UConn was because of Okafor.

Also, found this story from the ProJo earlier in the week to be interesting. Like most college basketball observers, I have my questions about John Calipari and the way he runs his program(s). But this column by Bill Reynolds certainly reveals a human side to Coach Cal.

Parliament-Hashadelic

2009-07-01T16:21:00.003-04:00

Hasheem Thabeet is back on the UConn campus for about a week before heading out to Las Vegas to play for the Memphis Grizzlies' summer league team. According to Thabeet, his summer league teammates will include former UConn teammate Jeff Adrien, as well as ex-Husky stars Marcus Williams and Kevin Ollie.

Over the next week, Thabeet will be staying with his mother, who lives in Springfield, Mass., while working out at Gampel – lifting weights under UConn strength and conditioning coach Chris West's watch. The Grizzlies will also be sending a coach out this way to supervise Thabeet's workouts.

Once summer league ends on July 18, Thabeet will fly back to his native Tanzania, where he's been invited by President Jakaya Kikwete to speak to Parliament.

"I don't even know what to say," Thabeet said. "I'm not up on politics and things like that."

Knowing Thabeet's effervescent personality, however, it says here he'll do just fine.

"I should be good," he admits.

Prior to training camp, Thabeet will have to take part in the NBA's rookie transition program in New York City.

After being drafted by the Grizzlies as the No. 2 overall pick on Thursday night, Thabeet flew to Memphis on Friday and worked out for the team over the weekend. In between workouts, Thabeet was able to do a little house-hunting. He's honing in on some five-bedroom estates which, eventually, his mother and some other family members would move into with him.

Must be nice.

Chris Smith New Coach at Kolbe

2009-06-30T20:37:00.001-04:00

Chris Smith, the all-time leading scorer in UConn men’s basketball history, has been named boys basketball coach at his alma mater, Bridgeport’s Kolbe Cathedral.

Smith graduated from Kolbe in 1988 and was coach Jim Calhoun’s first major in-state recruiting coup. In his four years with the Huskies, Smith scored 2,145 career points, still a school record. Detroit Pistons forward Richard Hamilton is second with 2,036 (in three seasons).

Smith was selected in the second round of the 1992 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves and played three seasons for the team.

Knight School?

2009-06-27T18:47:00.004-04:00

Brandon Knight, the reigning Gatorade National Player of the Year, made an unofficial visit to UConn today.

Knight, 6-foot-3, is the top-rated point guard in the nation among Class of 2010 players, according to scout.com. He plays at Pinecrest School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

He's also an excellent student: so good, in fact, that he also paid a visit to Yale on Friday.

(Update): Here's a mention of Knight's visit in Dave Solomon's column.

Train in Vain

2009-06-26T13:30:00.003-04:00

A long night in New York City devolved into a long morning in (or near) Milford. The MetroNorth train that I and Mike Anthony (no, not the Van Halen bassist) took home from Grand Central Station at 1:12 a.m. caught fire about five minutes from the Milford station and caused a 1 1/2-hour delay. Yep, it caught fire.

We were cruising along, me listening to my iPod at typically high volume, when suddenly I heard a loud explosion and saw a spark -- a real, big spark -- outside the train window. The train stopped, things get dark, and after what seemed like 10 minutes the announcement that we already knew came -- "Folks, we've experienced a technical problem, we're trying to fix it."

Thanks.

Anyway, they tell us all to move up to the first few trains of the car. As we pass through the car ahead of ours, smoke starts billowing through. Great.

Long story short, after a near 90-minute wait, a "rescue train" comes to our rescue, hitches us up and takes us to the Milford and New Haven stops. I got home at 5 a.m. Was at TPC River Highlands for the Travelers by 11:30 a.m.

Quiz question: Who sang "Train in Vain."

No, Adrien!

2009-06-26T00:01:00.003-04:00

Jeff Adrien didn't get drafted tonight, but it says here he'll find a spot on an NBA roster next fall. He'll be a free agent and possibly have a chance to select which team he'd like to sign with. He may start getting calls tonight (this morning).

Adrien's hometown Boston Celtics had the chance to take him with the 58th overall pick in the draft, but instead chose Tennessee-Martin guard Lester Hudson, who was the nation's second-leading scorer after Stephen Curry.

Otherwise, a pretty good night for the Big East – four Big East alums in the first round and 10 overall. First round: UConn's Hasheem Thabeet, Syracuse's Jonny Flynn (No. 6), Louisville's Terrence Williams (No. 11) and Earl Clark (No. 14).

In the second round, Villanova's Dante Cunningham (No. 33), Georgetown's DaJuan Summers (No. 35), Pitt's Sam Young (No. 36) and DeJuan Blair (No. 37), UConn's A.J. Price (No. 52)

Maybe it's because I watched the two torch UConn twice this past season, but if you ask me, both Young and Blair are much better NBA prospects than Cunningham and Summers. Cunningham deservedly won the Big East's most improved player award, but he doesn't have the skills or athleticism of either Pitt player. Just as Jim Calhoun.

***Some real doozies asked by a couple of media members at Hasheem Thabeet's press conference.

Here's one question: "Memphis is known for great music, great food … pro basketball, not so much. How much do you know about the city of Memphis and are you concerned about a franchise that has been a colossal failure?"

Another one, from the same guy, to No. 1 overall pick Blake Griffin: "Blake, the philosopher Santayana once said, 'Those who don't remember the past are condemned to repeat it.' With 30 years of losing in an organization, is it going to take time?"

Not every day you hear Santayana quoted in a presser.

***Brandon Jennings elected not to wait in the "green room" (which isn't green at all and in fact, isn't even a room, as Phil Chardis pointed out) with his fellow likely lottery picks. A statement released by his agent earlier in the day indicated he'd be watching the draft on TV with his family in a "more private setting, with the people he loves the most." Apparently, the Jennings camp believed he had slipped far in the draft and didn't want to have a Brady Quinn-like situation, sitting around, embarassingly waiting forever to be picked.

But Jennings wound up going No. 10. Then, after absent Earl Clark was picked at No. 14, Jennings emerged onto the stage to be congratulated by NBA commissioner David Stern. Seems that "private setting" wasn't too far from the Garden.

***The New York crowd, as always, let us know how it really felt. When Stern kicked off the proceedings by congratulating the Lakers for their NBA title, the chant of "Lakers (stink)!" went through the building.

The crowd was extremely disappointed when Stephen Curry went to Golden State at No. 7 – one pick before the Knicks. Curry seemed to be hoping to go to the Knicks, whose style of play would seem to suit him to a 'T.' Instead, the Knicks took Arizona's Jordan Hill, a power forward.

There were (unnecessary, if you ask me) chants of "Over-rated!" when UNC's Tyler Hansbrough was picked at No. 13 by the Pacers. And when Israel's Omri Casspi was picked by Sacramento at No. 23, there was actually cheering on press row by (we presume) an Israeli writer.

Price a Pacer

2009-06-25T23:30:00.002-04:00

A.J. Price goes to Larry Bird's Indiana Pacers with the 52nd overall pick. Good for him. Now, we'll see if Jeff Adrien goes with one of the final eight selections.

He's No. 2!

2009-06-25T21:32:00.003-04:00

Some quotes from Hasheem Thabeet's press conference, after he was selected by Memphis with the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft:

"I'm happy and excited.I look forward to being part of the Grizzlies' organization."

On whether he had an inkling that Memphis would select him:

"I was surprised. (The Grizzlies) were calling my agent … I was waiting to hear what's going to happen. I ended up in Memphis, so I'm happy. I was going to be happy wherever I ended up. This is, for me, a great opportunity to go out there and play ball and have fun."

On his improvements from his freshman year at UConn to now:

"When I came here, I never thought, first of all, that I would be able to make it to Division I. I ended up at UConn, and when I got to UConn, I got to be coached by Jim Calhoun. He pushed me since day one ... I had to believe in myself that I can definitely do it. After my freshman year, I was young and I had to grow up and (Calhoun) prepared me mentally pretty well for me to believe in myself. He challenged me and I can challenge myself to be man enough to go out there and play ball, and I ended up believing in myself since my freshman year."

Thabeet considered leaving for the NBA after both his freshman and sophomore seasons. Calhoun told him leaving after his freshman year "is going to be the worst mistake in your life. I had to believe in him and trust him and told my family that I can wait a couple off years for me to be in the NBA … To me, this is a blessing."

Thabeet, who becomes the first Tanzanian ever selected in the NBA draft, was seated with his mother, Rukia Manka, who still lives in Tanzania. His father, Thabit Manka, passed away several years ago.

"The first five years (away from home), I didn't get to see my family … I used to speak to them on the phone every two or three weeks, and now they are here and get to experience this with me. I don't even know how to explain that. It's just a great feeling and I'm happy that (my mother) was there to experience it."

Still waiting to see if A.J. Price and/or Jeff Adrien get selected. Stay tuned ...

All the Way to Memphis

2009-06-25T19:42:00.003-04:00

Hasheem Thabeet has been selected by the Memphis Grizzlies with the No. 2 pick in the 2009 NBA draft. He'll join former Husky Rudy Gay on a team that also features (for now, anyway) four other 7-footers: starting center Marc Gasol, who averaged 11.9 points per game last season, Chris Mihm, rookie Hamed Haddadi, infamous draft bust Darko Milicic and Thabeet.

Heading off to Thabeet's press conference, will be back with more ...

(P.S. -- Who sang "All the Way to Memphis"?)

Separated at Birth ...?

2009-06-25T19:22:00.001-04:00

Jennings Feeling Jilted?

2009-06-25T18:43:00.002-04:00

With his draft stock apparently plummeting, Brandon Jennings has decided not to join the rest of the potential lottery picks at tonight's NBA draft festivities.

This statement from his agent, Bill Duffy: "Because we do not have a strong grasp of Brandon's draft position, I've advised that he and his family enjoy this day in a more private setting with the people he loves the most. Brandon Jennings will have a very illustrious career in the NBA, and at the end of the day, that is all that is important."

Jennings, of course, went to play in Italy this past season straight out of high school, rather than attend college for a year.

Feeling a Draft

2009-06-25T16:07:00.008-04:00

Just took my seat on press row at Madison Square Garden's WaMu Theater, ready for tonight's 2009 NBA Draft (yeah, I'm early ... but they start serving food at 4 p.m., I'm told).

Been lucky enough to cover World Series, a Final Four, an MLB All-Star Game, but never a draft of any sort. Should be fun. Put it this way: I'm looking far more forward to this draft than my dad was looking forward to a different draft back in the late 1960s.

Anyway, will add updates throughout the evening on Hasheem Thabeet, A.J. Price, Jeff Adrien and anything else UConn-related. We'll be here 'til the bitter end, planning a very late ride home. Stay tuned ... and in the meantime, enjoy this Sporcle quiz on which college programs have sent the most players to the NBA. A little surprised UConn is this low, but pretty impressive when you consider they've sent nearly all their guys in the past 20 years. (Oh, and if you haven't heard of Sporcle yet and you're a trivia-lover, like me ... you're welcome).

86 Floors, 7 feet, 3 inches tall

2009-06-23T20:21:00.006-04:00

Hasheem Thabeet visited the Empire State Building and its famous 86th-floor observatory on Tuesday as he gets set for Thursday's NBA Draft at Madison Square Garden. Here are some photos taken by Matt McCullough:

Of Ater, Twitter and Thabeet

2009-06-22T19:37:00.004-04:00

Went over to Gampel Pavilion this afternoon to see what’s going on up in UConn territory. Apparently, just missed Jerome Dyson, who has been cleared to participate in full-contact drills and pick-up games for the first time since tearing the lateral meniscus in his right knee in February.

Otherwise, had a good chat with associate head coach George Blaney (Jim Calhoun has only been in the office once, for about an hour, since breaking five ribs in a bike crash on June 13), as well as Ater Majok and a few other players. Here’s what we’ve got:

***All indications are that Majok will be on board for the Huskies next season. He’s been working out at Gampel pretty much every day for the past week with UConn’s other players. Perhaps more telling, he has signed up for second-session summer classes at the school that begin in late-July.

“He’s doing everything that indicates that he is (planning on playing for UConn),” Blaney noted
.
Added junior guard Donnell Beverly: “He said he’s staying here, that he’s going to come to school.”

Majok, however, won’t guarantee it.

“I think I’ll be playing at UConn next year,” he said with a wide grin, before adding. “I don’t know yet, but I would really like to … I need a championship, so that might motivate me to come back.”

So, who knows? Majok said his workouts for NBA teams over the past month or so was “a good experience, I learned a lot. It’s good for someone like me who hasn’t played basketball a lot, just to go and learn the game from the veterans and coaches.”

He added that working out with the rest of UConn’s players, particularly the guards, this summer is a positive, “so when I get on the court later, we have something in common, we’ve played together already.”

Majok says the coaching staff tells him he’s a “hybrid four – and that basically, I’m a nightmare for any four-man in the nation. I can shoot the 3, and not a lot of big guys can go out there and handle the ball, things like that. They look at me as a hybrid four – a three or a four who plays the four.”

***It’s June, we realize that. But if the season started tomorrow, Gavin Edwards would be the starting four and Charles Okwandu the starting five.

“Charles is strong, he can rebound, he can really defend,” said Blaney. “He’s a baby offensively, but when you have Kemba (Walker), Jerome and Stanley (Robinson), you’re not looking for a ton of scoring from that position.”

As for Edwards, it’s just a matter of him having as much confidence in himself as the coaching staff has.

“He has all the skills – passing, catching and shooting,” Blaney said. “He has basketball knowledge, he’s one of the smarter players we have, guard or forward. He’s got great speed, he’s got great jumping ability. I think he’s a little bit like Hilton (Armstrong) – he’s kind of grown into his body, he’s made himself a lot stronger.”

Said Edwards: “I think I’ve kind of come into my own now, and I’m ready to believe in myself the way everybody else on the coaching staff does. They’ve been telling me that the (No. 4) spot’s basically mine to lose and there’s no reason why I shouldn’t have the confidence to be able to go out there and start and play as well as I have in my best games here.”

***In further evidence of how social-networking affects the college sports landscape, a rumor broke out shortly after the end of last season that 7-foot enter Jonathan Mandeldove was set to transfer. It was even reported by a local news station, apparently as a result of a “tweet” on Mandeldove’s Twitter page.

In fact, Mandeldove, a senior, said transferring from UConn was never a consideration. As for the “tweet”, it was just a joke on Mandeldove’s part.

“I saw (the rumor) and I replied with another tweet, ‘Leaving campus right now,’ because I saw someone was following me and posted it up on another website,” he said. “That was a little prank.”

In fact, Mandeldove’s teammate – little-used junior guard Donnell Beverly – did give some consideration to transferring.

“I thought about it,” Beverly said. “I talked to some people at home, and we figured the best thing for me to do is just to stay here, because my chance will come, I believe that. And I’m under a great coach, anyway. Nobody would be able to get you more ready than coach Calhoun.”

***The Huskies use a VertiMax machine to help players improve their leaping ability. The machine has a harness that players tie around their waist and is connected to a platform by two cords. The players jump (as high as they can) while strapped into the harness and dunk or put in as many layups as they can over a certain amount of time. After the resistance that the machine offers, the players feel they can jump through the roof once unharnessed.

“Everybody raves about it,” said head manager Ben Wood.

Upon stepping onto the machine, making him practically eye-level with the bottom of the basket net, Majok said: “I’m so close (to the rim). Is this how Hasheem feels?”

***Edwards has won the team’s strength and conditioning award the past two years.

***Blaney said Jeff Adrien had two very good workouts over the weekend, with Utah and Charlotte. The Utah workout went particularly well, with Jazz coach (and soon-to-be Hall of Famer) Jerry Sloan in attendance.

“That would be a kind of coach that he’d really do well with,” said Blaney.

***As for Hasheem Thabeet: “All of the pro guys I’ve been talking to, it sounds to me like (he’s) No. 2.”

***Blaney on Calhoun: “He’s trying to get up and move around, get the blood flowing, not be sedentary – and you know he’s going to do more of that than he’s supposed to. Each day, he sounds better. If you catch him at the end of the day, he usually sounds a little tired.”

Hoop Dreams

2009-06-19T11:35:00.009-04:00

With Ater Majok officially pulling his name out of the 2009 NBA Draft, there are four players with UConn ties who will be waiting to hear their names called next Thursday night – Hasheem Thabeet, A.J. Price, Jeff Adrien and Nate Miles (remember him?).

Thabeet is likely to be the No. 2 overall pick; Miles will almost certainly not be selected at all. In between are Price and Adrien, who will await hearing their names with the most suspense.

With less than a week before the draft, here's how the four players size up, and what they can expect on draft day:

THABEET

***Will probably end up at Memphis with the No. 2 pick, though Grizzlies' GM Chris Wallace hasn't settled on anybody yet, and Thabeet has yet to work out for the team. He will work out for the Grizzlies on Saturday. Memphis is also considering dropping down in the draft, which is considered a pretty weak one.

According to the UConn coaching staff, Memphis and Oklahoma City have had the most inquiries about Thabeet.

***There are some worries about a shoulder injury. Not sure if this is related to the infamous DeJuan Blair flip-over. (Maybe this explains why Thabeet seems to have a Johnny Damon-esque throwing arm).

***An NBA director of player development on Thabeet: "He's never going to be a guy you can throw the ball in the post and run your offense through, like the Houston Rockets do with Yao Ming. He's just not that skilled … he's got an advantage with his size and length, but can he make the elbow jumper? … If he gets with a very good point guard who sets him up for dunks, like Tyson Chandler and Chris Paul in New Orleans, he has the ability to roll to the rim pretty much every time."

PRICE:

***Probably a mid-to-late second round pick. First round? "I don't think he's there," said an NBA source.

***Same director of player development on Price: "With A.J., people like his leadership, his ability to get in the lane, make jumpers, pull up around the elbow. The big concerns with A.J., are, defensively, will he be able to slide and stay in front of guys? Can he go side-to-side and keep quicker guys in front of him? Guys got by him fairly regularly in the zone, but the difference is he had Thabeet to protect the rim … (Also), in college he was primarily a shoot-first guy. He got some assists, but it seemed he'd look for his shot first, and it was contested, he'd find someone under the basket for a dunk. Some guys drive into the lane looking to set up their teammates."

*** Reports that Price had an aneurysm in his brain were "misleading," according to the NBA official. "Our team doctor went through the whole medical process (at the pre-draft camp in Chicago) and red-flagged a few guys. A.J. was not one of them."

In fact, a source close to Price said that Price underwent an MRA (Magnetic Resonance Angiography) that revealed no aneurysm.

***Price has had about seven workouts so far -- including Detroit, Sacramento, Cleveland, Washington, Minnesota – and still has two more lined up, with Denver and with the world-champion Lakers. The Nuggets and Miami Heat have shown the most interest in him thus far.

ADRIEN:

***Late second round, or could go undrafted.

***Our NBA guy on Adrien: "Teams like the kind of player Jeff is. Every team would like a player who rebounds that efficiently, who's that tough, who's not afraid of contact."

The source also noted that Adrien's measurements were "freakish." Though measured at 6-6 ½, Adrien has a 7-2 wingspan.

"That's way more valuable than a guy's size. Guys who are 6-6 with 6-6 wingspans, that doesn't do you much good. Guys like Jeff who are 6-6 with a 7-2 … you don't play basketball to the top of your head. Length is very useful."

***Adrien "needs to work on his shooting," said the source. "He's kind of got a long wind-up, he takes the ball behind his head. He needs to work on shortening his stroke."

***Adrien had also been slowed by tendonitis in his knee recently. "I don't know how serious it is, but it's hurting him right now," the source said last week, noting that at a group workout in Houston last month, Adrien was wearing a brace on one of his knees. "His stride was a little off. He was not running like he was at UConn, when he was healthy."

***If Adrien goes undrafted, it might not be such a bad thing. Second-round draft picks are non-guaranteed, anyway, so a team that drafts him could still cut him by early January. If he goes undrafted, Adrien could pick and choose a better fit for him as a free agent.

The typical route to take would be playing for a team in an NBA summer league, either in Orlando July 6-10 or Las Vegas July 11-20. If the team likes what they see, they'd extend him an invitation to training camp in the fall.

MILES:

***No chance he gets drafted. Miles has had workouts with several NBA teams recently, however.

Said our NBA source: "He's a skilled offensive player, pretty quick … his shooting is pretty special. He's got a good-looking stroke, a quick release."

But …

"Physically, he's weak … he looks like a high school kid … and defensively, he's bad right now. He'd be a below-average college defender."

Character concerns could also scare teams off.

***The economy is also an issue. In the past, most teams were allowed to keep the maximum 15 players on a roster. Now, there's a good chance most teams will be down to 13 or 14. The minimum is 13, and that can go down to 12 for a while. In other words, teams don't have the luxury of drafting guys who are few years away and can languish on the end of the bench for a few years. A couple of years ago, a guy like Miles may have been drafted. This year? No chance.

***Miles will likely end up having to decide whether to play in the NBA Developmental League for lousy money, but with the chance to get called up midseason by the NBA, or play overseas and make better money, but have virtually no chance of getting called to the NBA during the season, since the NBA and FIBA honor each others' contracts.

Most likely, Miles will get selected by a D-League team next fall and work his way to "The League" through that route.

Hasheem the Draft Dodger

2009-06-18T20:30:00.006-04:00

Hasheem Thabeet is likely to be the No. 2 overall pick in the NBA Draft next Thursday night. He's a two-time national defensive player of the year and an All-American. He's also quite skilled at soccer (his father, we're told, was one of the great players in Tanzanian history). Thabeet is a two-sport star.

Baseball, however, is not his game. See for yourself on this YouTube clip where Thabeet and Brandon Jennings throw out the first pitch at a Los Angeles Dodgers game recently. (P.S. -- I apologize for the R-rated rap song playing in the background, but nothing I could do about it. Keep this out of earshot of kids, however).

Thabeet's warm-up throws with Jennings won't make anyone forget Sandy Koufax (or Randy Johnson, if you're looking for someone nearly the same height). And while squatted behind home plate to catch Jennings' first pitch, big Hash won't make anyone forget Roy Campanella or Mike Piazza, either. He gets all Rich Gedman on us and drops the ball!!!

At least Thabeet and Jennings got to pose for pictures with Joe Torre, and seemed to be having a great time. Hash was recently on the Jim Rome Show, as well. He's working out in L.A., but will be in New York for next week's draft.

Majok Pulls Name out of Draft

2009-06-15T16:24:00.005-04:00

Ater Majok has pulled his name from the 2009 NBA Draft. As explained in the previous post on this blog, that doesn't necessarily mean he will play for UConn next season.

Majok could still opt to go to Europe, where supposedly teams from Italy, Spain and Greece have shown interest in the 6-foot-10 forward. By pulling out of the draft, he affords himself the chance to stay at UConn if nothing materializes in Europe.

It's hardly a surprise that Majok has pulled out. Here's what an NBA director of player personnel had to say about him earlier today, before we knew whether he'd be in the draft or not: "I've never seen the kid, but guys on our staff have said, 'No. Don't even worry about him. He's not a legit NBA player at this point … maybe never.'"

Ouch.

There's no doubt Majok has great potential, but he obviously needs a lot of work on his game. If you ask me, the best tutoring he can get is under Jim Calhoun at UConn -- even though he won't be able to play until December. Think about where Hasheem Thabeet was a couple of years ago, and where he'll be in a couple of weeks -- one of the top five picks in the draft.

It's that kind of tutelage that Majok needs. Even though Europe can offer decent money right off the bat, it says here Majok is better served at UConn for at least a year or two, after which he could be in a position to earn a lot more money.

Just one man's opinon.

Decision Time for Majok

2009-06-14T21:30:00.002-04:00

Ater Majok must decide by tomorrow (Monday) whether or not to pull his name out of the NBA Draft pool, and by all accounts it appears he will do so.

However, that doesn't necessarily mean he will stay at UConn and play for Jim Calhoun next season.

Professional teams in Spain, Greece and Italy have shown some interest in Majok, according to his former coach, Ed Smith, and he may opt to play overseas. Pulling his name out of the draft would simply give the 6-foot-10 forward the option of returning to UConn if he decides against playing in Europe.

Still, it appears likely that Majok will remain at UConn, where he will be a sophomore next season. A Sudanese native who has lived in Australia for several years, Majok was finally cleared by the NCAA to enroll at UConn last January but won't be eligible to play until December.

Majok had his final NBA workout on Thursday in Chicago, and scouts apparently liked his mobility, length, 7-foot-4 wingspan and speed. But they were also in agreement that Majok needs to improve his core strength, and needs some experience under his belt before he becomes a "big-time prospect."

"Their advice," according to Smith, "is to head back to school, or head where you will play. He needs to play games, games, games, games."

Majok was slated to speak with his parents, who are still in Australia, over this weekend. He also received input from Smith, who seems to think Majok should stay at UConn.

"Jim Calhoun is a proven developer of NBA talent," Smith said. "For him to go over there (to Europe) would have to be something on a par with the coach and system at UConn, something extraordinary like that."

Calhoun said last week that expects Majok to pull his name out of the draft, and that entertaining any offers from European teams would be a mistake.

Majok does have financial concerns. His father helps with the resettlement of refugees in Sydney, and his mother just gave birth to a baby boy – Majok's fifth brother.

"(Money) would be a factor, the type of deal he would get," Smith acknowledged. "But my advice to the family is basically to evaluate it as a long-term investment into your son. You don't want to jump at the first thing you get. There's a lot to say for Coach Calhoun and the University of Connecticut."

Calhoun Released From Hospital

2009-06-14T17:37:00.003-04:00

Jim Calhoun was released from the UConn Medical Center at about 4 p.m. today and is currently resting at home, according to his wife, Pat.

"He has to take it easy for a few days," she said. "Time will tell what he can do (after that)."

Pat Calhoun said her husband will "absolutely not" play in the Travelers Championship pro-am on June 24, as he was scheduled to do.

"I'd hide his golf clubs," said Pat, who added that her husband's physical activity will likely be limited to a stationary bike for a while.

Calhoun collapsed shortly after finishing a 50-mile ride at his annual charity bike ride on Saturday in Simsbury. He had fallen off his bike during the race and broke six ribs, but continued riding without even realizing it until the end.

"Jim has a higher threshold of pain than most people," said Pat. "I assume it's much more than I would be able to tolerate."

Calhoun's collapse appears to be a result of dehydration, although Pat says that media reports that her husband didn't drink enough water while riding were false.

"Jim's a very smart rider," she said. "Jim has always been very aware of drinking while he's out riding. I think (the collapse) was, to some extent, the injuries he didn't realize he had, and the long bike ride. He talked to the media afterwards, and perhaps he should have had more fluids when there. But it certainly wasn't because he didn't take any fluids."

Calhoun was given some mild medication for pain upon his release from the hospital, according to his wife.

Sticks Clicks in Classroom

2009-06-10T15:09:00.002-04:00

It was about this time last year when Jim Calhoun announced that Stanley Robinson would sit out the first semester of the upcoming season for personal reasons.

What a difference a year makes.

Robinson was apparently as impressive in the classroom as he was in the court this past winter. According to Calhoun, Robinson may boast the highest cumulative GPA on the team right now. Whether or not "Sticks" remains the Huskies' best student, Calhoun believes there's a good chance he could be the team's best player next season.

Elsewhere in UConn Territory:

***Will Ater Majok ever wear a UConn uniform? Don't ask me … or the UConn coaching staff. They're as miffed about Majok's future as you or me. Calhoun believes Majok will pull his name out of the NBA draft by the June 15 deadline, but apparently Majok may be mulling over some European offers. That would be a big mistake, as far as Calhoun is concerned.

***Jeff Adrien was measured at 6-foot-6 ½ for his NBA draft measurements, but with a 7-2 wingspan that was among the biggest of any other player. In fact, his height and wingspan were the exact same as Pitt's DeJuan Blair – only Blair checked in at 277 pounds, Adrien at 236.

***Adrien has opened some teams' eyes recently, getting invited back for second visits by Portland, Minnesota and Oklahoma City. While NBAdraftexpress.com doesn't foresee him getting selected, the UConn staff is holding out hope he does. The Celtics? We're hearing that because they already have so many young players (Gabe Pruitt, Bill Walker, J.R. Giddens) languishing on the bench, they might go for a more experienced foreign player, or trade away their pick.

***A.J. Price appears to be projected for the early-to-mid-second round. First round is still a possibility. The Memphis Grizzlies have inquired quite a bit about Hasheem Thabeet, making it appear they could very well take him with the No. 2 overall pick.

***Craig Austrie might try to get into an NBA camp as a free agent, though Calhoun believes it's probably a mistake. A better option, Calhoun believes, is Europe. Austrie is getting married next summer.

***Jerome Dyson is about "90 percent" recovered from his torn lateral meniscus injury in his right knee suffered last February. Dyson is making cuts, taking shooting drills – essentially everything but playing right now. He could start playing within the next week.

Livin' On Tulsa Time

2009-06-07T19:02:00.004-04:00

Here's what we know about Scottie Haralson's transfer from UConn to the University of Tulsa:

Haralson apparently asked for a release from his scholarship a while ago but kept it under wraps as he finished up his schoolwork at UConn. He went home to Jackson, Miss. last week and enrolled in a summer course at nearby Hinds Community College, then visited Tulsa on Friday.

He'll be one of two newcomers at Tulsa in 2010-11, along with D.J. Magley, a post player who played the last two seasons at Western Kentucky.

Haralson's departure opens up a scholarship for the Huskies. While the spring signing period has passed, UConn will continue to look for players – most likely a big man – over the summer. Coach Jim Calhoun likes to use his full compliment of 13 scholarships, so there's a good chance Haralson's gets filled.

(If you're thinking of 7-footer Fab Melo out of Sagemont School in Weston, Fla., think again -- he's Class of 2010).

The Huskies did, however, get an unofficial visit over the weekend from Kyrie Irving, a Class of 2010 combo guard out of St. Patrick's High in Elizabeth, N.J. Irving, 6-foot-1, has been ranked the No. 2 point guard in his class by scout.com. His high school coach, Kevin Boyle, once said that Irving "might be the best guard ever to come out of Jersey." Irving is said to be a big-game player who can score and pass equally well.

UConn is hoping to line up another few visits between now and July 6, when the summer recruiting period starts and players start darting off with their AAU teams, etc.

Haralson Transfers to Tulsa

2009-06-07T15:00:00.003-04:00

Scottie Haralson apparently enjoyed his visit to the University of Tulsa this weekend. He has signed scholarship papers to join the Golden Hurricanes program.

Haralson averaged just 1.4 points and 4.1 minutes of playing time this past season as a freshman at UConn. Billed as a 3-point shooter, he hit just 26.9 percent from beyond the arc.

Haralson, who is back home in Jackson, Miss. taking a summer course at nearby Hinds Community College, is expected to join the Tulsa program at the end of the month.

Haralson's departure frees up a scholarship for the Huskies that could presumably be used on another big man.

More to come ...

Tulsa Time?

2009-06-03T18:08:00.017-04:00

Scottie Haralson insists he's not sure if he'll transfer from UConn, but after talking to him by phone earlier today, it seems the sophomore-to-be is strongly leaning that way.

Haralson, a shooting guard who saw precious little playing time as a freshman this past season, will be making a visit to the University of Tulsa on Friday.

He is currently back home in Jackson, Miss., taking a course at nearby Hinds Community College and contemplating his college hoops future. He noted that his role on the team and potential playing time next season will be the determining factor as to whether or not he'll return to Storrs.

"(The UConn coaching staff) said (my playing time is) going to be the same amount as last season, as of now, and it will be real difficult to get some playing time if you stay here," Haralson said. "That's why I put a transfer into consideration."

Billed as a sharpshooter out of Provine High School in Jackson, Haralson shot just 7-for-26 (28.6 percent) from 3-point land last season. He played in 17 of the Huskies' 36 games, averaging just 4.1 minutes of playing time.

Haralson had logged just six minutes of Big East action until getting his first significant run on Feb. 25 at Marquette, canning a pair of 3-pointers and scoring six points in eight minutes in a 93-82 UConn win. But Haralson never managed to truly find his way into UConn's regular rotation.

"I wouldn't say I was disappointed, but I wanted to play more," he said. "But everybody wants to play. I fit in well with the guys, we bonded. I learned a lot in my one year and I got better, so I was more happy with that, learning the system and getting to know everyone."

Tulsa, which didn't recruit him in high school, is Haralson's only scheduled visit as of now. He said that Houston, North Texas, New Orleans, Alabama, Mississippi State and Southern Mississippi have also shown interest, with the help of UConn's coaching staff.

***Who sang "Tulsa Time"?

Walker Picked for U-19 Trials

2009-05-27T12:54:00.002-04:00

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Headlined by four returning USA Basketball veterans, including the MVP of the 2008 FIBA Americas U18 Championship, 17 of the nation's most talented 19-and-younger basketball players have been selected to attend the 2009 USA U19 National Team Trials, held June 16-18 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The athletes, born on or after Jan. 1, 1990, will compete for one of 12 roster spots on the 2009 USA U19 World Championship Team. The trials invitations were extended by the USA Basketball Men's Junior National Team Committee, chaired by NCAA representativeJim Boeheim (head coach, Syracuse University). Following the trials, the USA Basketball Men's Junior National Team Committee is expected to announce finalists for the 12-member USA U19 World Championship Team roster. Training camp for the selected finalists will begin June 19, with the 12-member USA roster being announced prior to the teams' departure for New Zealand on June 25.

Kemba Walker (Connecticut / New York, N.Y), who was named MVP of the 2008 FIBA Americas Championship that qualified the U.S. for this year's World Championship, will return in hopes of making his second USA roster. Walker averaged 13.4 ppg., 5.0 apg., and 4.6 rpg. while leading the USA to a silver medal in the 2008 FIBA Americas. In addition to Walker,Al-Farouq Aminu (Wake Forest / Norcross, Ga.), Dominic Cheek (Villanova / Jersey City, N.J.),andDrew Gordon(UCLA / San Jose, Calif.) have all previously represented the USA. Cheek was a teammate of Walker in the 2008 FIBA Americas, while Aminu and Gordon played together on the 2007 Youth Developmental Festival Red Team that finished 5-0 and captured the gold medal and the 2008 USA Junior Select Team that defeated the World Select Team 98-78 in the 2008 Nike Hoop Summit.

Rounding out the 2009 USA Men's U19 World Championship Team Trials roster are newcomers:Kenny Boynton (Florida / Pompano Beach, Fla.),Darryl Bryant (West Virginia / Brooklyn, N.Y.),DeAngelo Casto (Washington State / Spokane, Wash.),Seth Curry (Duke / Charlotte, N.C.),Gordon Hayward (Butler / Brownsburg, Ind.),Darius Miller (Kentucky / Maysville, Ky.),Arnett Moultrie(UTEP / Memphis, Tenn.),Ralph Sampson III (Minnesota / Duluth, Ga.),John Shurna (Northwestern / Glen Ellyn, Ill.),Tyshawn Taylor (Kansas / Jersey City, N.J.),Howard Thompkins (Georgia / Lithonia, Ga.),Klay Thompson (Washington State / Ladera Ranch, Calif.) andTerrico White (Mississippi / Memphis, Tenn.).

The Was Quick

2009-05-20T10:26:00.001-04:00

The Doug Wiggins Era is over before it even began at UMass.

Darius Smith Feature

2009-05-17T08:41:00.002-04:00

Here's a story from today's Register on incoming UConn freshman Darius Smith, who overcame anger issues related to his father's murder to become the terrific young man he is today. Smith's father was shot dead in a supermarket parking lot when Smith was just 5. Apparently, he was shot by an off-duty policeman in a case of mistaken identity. The case has never been resolved.

Thanks to his mother, Sharon, and to Henry Cotton, who has coached Smith since sixth grade and emerged as the male presense in his life, Darius has overcome his anger issues. He is now a person (and player) who, Cotton promises, UConn fans are going to love.

Tweet, Tweet

2009-05-13T14:34:00.001-04:00

Somehow, I can't envision Jim Calhoun following this trend:

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Providence College men’s basketball coach Keno Davis has opened up a Twitter account to keep Friar fans updated on the most recent activity in the men’s basketball program. Fans can check out Davis’ Twitter page at http://twitter.com/CoachKenoDavis.
“After spending the last year in Providence, I believe we have some of the most loyal fans in college basketball,” Davis said. “I want to give our fans access to our program and keep them informed. There are always a lot of exciting things going on with our basketball program and I hope this technology is a useful tool for sharing the news with our fans.”
Twitter, a free social networking and micro-blogging service available at twitter.com, allows its users to send and read other users’ updates (also known as “tweets”). Fans can receive updates on the Keno Davis official Twitter page, on their mobile phone, via instant messaging or through e-mail. In addition, the Keno Davis Twitter page can be added to blogs or other social networking sites.
Fans do not need to sign up for Twitter to access the site, but to receive automatic updates, fans will need to create a Twitter account. To create a free account, simply click on the button in the upper-right corner of the page that reads, “Join Today!”
Follow all of PC Athletics at http://twitter.com/PCAthletics.

Into the Mystic

2009-05-07T22:57:00.003-04:00

Jim Calhoun worked the room and addressed a crowd of about 100 people over cocktails and hors d'oeuvres at the Mystic Aquarium's main floor on Thursday night. He looked fit, content, even a little tan.

It was quite a juxtaposition from exactly a year and a day earlier, when he was having a cancerous mass removed from the right side of his neck.

We all know everything Calhoun and his program have been through over the ensuing year – both good and bad. Here's a bit of what Calhoun had to say on Thursday night.

***Neither he nor any of his assistants have been interviewed by the NCAA yet, though that's probably coming soon. About five players have been interviewd thus far, however, and at least another may still need to be interviewed. Calhoun is quick to point out that the NCAA is conducting a "review", not an investigation, at this point, and the program hasn't been cited for anything.

***Calhoun said he hasn't heard from many NBA teams about Ater Majok, who recently entered his name into the draft pool and whose relationship with Josh Nochimson (who Calhoun simply referred to as a "booster" on Thursday) could be a center of the NCAA's probe. But he has heard from a few.

"(They'll say) 'Tell us about this kid. We don't want to miss out on a 6-9 kid who can play,'" Calhoun said. "I think he's a player, without a position, but he can do things. I told him, right now you're not him because you can't do all the things he can do, but Paul Pierce doesn't really have a position. He's not a power forward or a three-man. So I don't have a problem with you working on your jump shot, but at 6-9, you have to be a power forward, too."

Calhoun added: "I never thought Andrew Bynum would go in the first round, I really didn't … but he was 7 feet, 300 pounds."

***Majok and his former Australian high school coach, Ed Smith, have both been interviewed by the NCAA. I spoke with Smith a couple of days ago, and he disputes an espn.com report that Nochimson shepherded Majok around a high school tournament in Kentucky last spring.

"I'm absolutely positive there's nothing Ater has to worry about," Smith said. "His contact with Josh Nochimson was limited to basically 30 seconds, if that. We meet so many people along this recruiting process, people want to meet you. Ater's very cordial, he'll say 'hi,' shake your hand and move on."

Smith claims that Nochimson had a special interest in helping Sudanese kids like Majok (and Luol Deng).

"He was never working in terms of UConn itself," Smith said. "He worked with other kids, for other schools. Luol went to Duke. That should tell you. You'd figure (if the reports were accurate) that he would push UConn."

*** Calhoun said there is no truth to the rumor about 7-foot senior-to-be Jonathan Mandeldove transferring. He had heard a rumor about freshman Scottie Haralson pondering a transfer, but he'll wait to talk about it with him until after exams are done this week.

"He didn't initiate it with me," said Calhoun. "I just said I heard something, he said someone talked to my dad or something."

***Kemba Walker will likely play with the USA Under-20 team this summer, and either Gavin Edwards or Charles Okwandu may play in the Bahamas.

***Apparently, Ben Gordon – whose summer workout regimen is legendary – and Kobe Bryant recently did some verbal sparring on the court, according to Calhoun.

"Kobe said, 'Hey Ben, I heard you had the hardest workout of the summer. Not as hard as mine.' They ended up arguing."

***While speaking to the well-heeled crowd on Thursday, Calhoun alluded to the Ken Krayeske affair.

"I shouldn't be talking about peoples' salaries … is YouTube here?"

***Music quiz time again: Who sang "Into the Mystic"?

"Watch the UConn Infomerical"

2009-04-29T16:10:00.003-04:00

Nearly every day, UConn president Michael Hogan, athletic director Jeff Hathaway and/or head men's basketball coach Jim Calhoun calls Rick Evrard to see what kind of progress is being made on the investigation into potential recruiting violations.

And every day, Evrard gives them the same answer he gave me today: "I don't know."

"They're my client," Evrard said, "and the best I can I keep them up to speed on everything I do. We're working as diligently and thoroughly as we possibly can."

But to this point, Evrard – retained by UConn as an outside legal counsel to look into alleged violations in Nate Miles' recruitment – really can give no major updates. He can't even venture a guess as to how long the investigation might take.

"I don't have a timeline on its completion," Evrard said.

One thing Evrard was able to clarify: if the NCAA penalizes UConn by a reduction in scholarship(s) – and that is a purely hypothetical situation – the reduction wouldn't come until the 2010-11 season, at the earliest. In other words, none of the current players or incoming recruits at UConn could have their scholarship yanked away if the NCAA determines that the school can just have, say, 12 scholarships, rather then the current allotment of 13.

Speaking of which, and in other news …

***The Huskies are pretty much done with their recruiting for the Class of 2009. Unless a 7-footer falls out of the sky, UConn's 13 scholarship players for next season seem pretty much set at this point: Jerome Dyson, Gavin Edwards, Stanley Robinson, Kemba Walker, Donnell Beverly, Ater Majok, Jonathan Mandeldove, Charles Okwandu, Scottie Haralson and incoming freshmen Jamaal Trice, Darius Smith, Alex Oriahki and Jamal Coombs-McDaniel.

Recruiting season ended last Wednesday, and the Huskies used that day to take another look at Brandon Knight down in Florida. Also there: Syracuse, Kentucky and Villanova, among others (though apparently not Duke, long thought to be a frontrunner in the Knight sweepstakes).

***Majok is still working out with UConn players each day at Gampel Pavilion and won't start making visits to NBA teams until after classes are through. He may not visit a whole bunch of teams, since underclassmen must pay their own way for flights, lodging, etc. – although some teams geographically near each other (i.e., the Nets and Knicks) might double up on some workouts.

***A.J. Price and Jeff Adrien have been invited to tryouts for numerous teams, including Washington, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Toronto and San Antonio (the teams can pay for those trips). Word is that Price is still a borderline first-round pick while Adrien could go anywhere in the second round (or go undrafted). Hasheem Thabeet is still thought to be anywhere from No. 2 through 5 overall, so he'll hold off on any tryouts until he learns the NBA draft lottery order, then probably visit a small list of teams.

***Charles Okwandu is said to be the most improved player among next year's crop of Huskies. Coaches have been impressed with his speed and athleticism in workouts and scrimmages. He's also supposedly had a good semester in the classroom. So has Stanley Robinson – in fact, Robinson has apparently had his best semester, academically, yet at UConn.

***UConn couldn't have a better built-in recruiting tool than the current Celtics-Bulls series. When Ray Allen and Ben Gordon go at it in epic, head-to-head battles, it couldn't be better salesmanship for the school. In fact, UConn coaches have sent e-mails saying "Watch the UConn Infomercial" to prospective recruits, referring to the Celts-Bull series.

Into the Mystic with Jim Calhoun

2009-04-27T14:40:00.003-04:00

Jim Calhoun will hold a meet and greet at Mystic Aquarium on Thursday, May 7.

From 6 to 7 p.m., enjoy cocktails and hors d' oeuvres during an intimate reception with Coach Calhoun on the main exhibit floor. At 7 p.m., Coach Calhoun will speak about his work and commitment to the aquarium - a division of Sea Research Foundation, Inc. - as a new trustee.
Five lucky individuals will win a basketball signed by Coach Calhoun during a drawing.

Here's the basic info:

WHAT: Meet and greet cocktail reception with UCONN Men's Basketball Coach and new Sea Research Foundation Trustee Jim Calhoun

WHEN: Thursday, May 7 from 6 to 8 p.m.

WHERE: Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration, 55 Coogan Blvd., Mystic, CT 06355

COST: $65 per person with cash bar. All donations to Sea Research Foundation are tax-deductible. Reservations are required. Please call (860) 572-5955 ext. 336 to make a reservation.

About Sea Research Foundation, Inc. Mystic Aquarium, Institute for Exploration and Immersion Presents are divisions of Sea Research Foundation, Inc., a private, non-profit, charitable organization incorporated in the State of Connecticut. The mission of Sea Research is to inspire people to care for and protect our ocean planet through education, research and exploration.

Ater and There

2009-04-23T21:19:00.002-04:00

O.K., here's the deal with the news of Ater Majok making himself eligible for the 2009 NBA draft -- don't worry about it. He will almost certainly be suiting up for the Huskies starting in December.

By declaring for the draft, Majok will be able to attend pre-draft workouts with NBA teams. It will allow him to go up against some of the best players in the country and assess just how far along he is as a player. But Majok didn't hire an agent, which means he can elect to return to school by June 15 – 10 days before the draft – if it doesn't appear he's going to be selected by a team. And that appears to be exactly what he plans on doing.

One of the main reasons Majok declared is because, essentially, he has nothing to lose by doing so. Starting next year, college players must decide by May 8 whether they are staying in the draft. That gives players a much shorter window to work out for teams than the current mid-June deadline.

With that in mind, it behooves players to test the waters this year, and many are doing just that – Villanova's Scottie Reynolds, UCLA's Jrue Holiday, St. Mary's Patty Mills and Maryland's Greivis Vasquez are among other high-profile players who have made themselves available for the draft without hiring an agent. It's not known whether Hasheem Thabeet, a UConn junior, has hired an agent yet, but as a likely top-five draft pick, he has no intention of returning to school.

Players only have one opportunity to test the waters, however, so the next time Majok declares for the draft he won't have the chance to return to school.

Although Majok is a skilled power forward who looked good in practice with UConn this season, it's highly doubtful an NBA team would risk a draft pick on him. Instead, he'll almost certainly decide over the next month or so that he'll stay at UConn. As long as he earns a certain amount of college credits by the end of next fall's semester (and assuming there are no further issues with the NCAA, in light of potential recruiting violations uncovered last month by Yahoo!), Majok should be sporting No. 5 for UConn next December.

Majok to Enter Draft, Not Hire Agent

2009-04-23T17:58:00.002-04:00

Here's the press release from UConn. More to come ...

University of Connecticut freshman basketball player Ater Majok will enter the 2009 NBA Draft but will not hire an agent, it was announced Thursday.

“After meeting with my family, I have decided that it is in my best interest to enter the NBA Draft,” said Majok. “I feel it will help me to test the process and get feedback on my strengths and weaknesses. It will allow me to get a better idea of what areas in my game need improvement and make me a better player in the future. I will not be hiring an agent and I enter this process with the full intention of assessing my abilities and returning to Connecticut in 2009-10.”

“In view of the upcoming rule changes for underclassmen, this is an opportunity for Ater to see where he currently fits into what I believe will be a future in professional basketball,” said UConn head coach Jim Calhoun. “I respect that Ater understands that this decision is about more than just him and that he has, and will continue to, involve his immediate family in this process as it goes forward.”

The NCAA legislative panel voted Monday on a decision that would make underclassmen decide by May 8 whether they are staying in the draft. The current deadline is ten days before the draft in mid-June. This rule, when ratified by the NCAA Board of Directors, will go into effect for next year's draft class.

Ater Majok (pronounced Ah-TARE Mah-jook) joined the UConn roster in the second semester of the 2008-09 season and will become eligible for action at the conclusion of the Fall semester in 2009 and have freshman eligibility. Majok is a 6-10, 233 lb. forward.

UConn-UK at MSG

2009-04-22T13:50:00.003-04:00

Back from vacation in the Carribbean ... very nice. Would recommend Grand Cayman for anyone (though the restaurants, etc., are pretty expensive). Off to see Bruce Springsteen tonight.

As many of you probably already know, UConn will face Kentucky as part of the SEC/Big East Invitational on Wednesday, Dec. 9 at Madison Square Garden. This will be the second time in three seasons that Jim Calhoun and John Calipari square off at MSG; in November, 2007, UConn lost to Calipari's Memphis Tigers.

Anyway, UConn-Kentucky will be part of a doubleheader that night. In the "jayvee" game, Georgia takes on St. John's (ESPN2). The UConn-UK game will be broadcast on ESPN.

Other matchups in the event, on Dec. 10 at St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla.: DePaul-Mississippi State on ESPN2, followed by Syracuse vs. Florida on ESPN.

Game times for all four matchups will be announced at a later date.

Six of the eight participating teams reached the postseason in 2008-09, with Connecticut, Mississippi State and Syracuse playing in the NCAA Tournament. The Orange made it to the Sweet Sixteen, while the Huskies advanced to the Final Four. Florida and Kentucky played in the NIT, while St. John’s played in the College Basketball Invitational.

Teams invited to participate in the SEC/BIG EAST Invitational are chosen by ESPN in consultation with the conferences and are based on geographic and competitive criteria.

The BIG EAST holds a 5-3 record in the first two years of the SEC/BIG EAST Invitational.
The two conferences have combined to produce four of the last seven NCAA Men's Basketball Champions (Florida - 2007 and 2006; Connecticut - 2004; Syracuse - 2003) and seven of the last 14 national champions (Connecticut - 1999; Kentucky - 1998 and 1996).

Tickets for the 2009 SEC/BIG EAST Invitational are expected to go on sale in early summer. For more information, visit the official Web site: secbigeastinvitational.com.

Vacation Time

2009-04-14T06:31:00.002-04:00

I'm off to the Cayman Islands for vacation. Come to think of it, maybe the Huskies should play in a tournament down there some time. Or maybe not.

Anyway, Jim Calhoun is meeting with the beat writers this morning to discuss a number of topics. Nothing major, same thing he does after every season. I'll be on a plane, so good ol' Dave Solomon will be there for the Register. Be sure to read his column in Wednesday's paper.

Until next week, I'm outta here ...

One More Time

2009-04-09T21:52:00.003-04:00

So why did Jim Calhoun and UConn decide to come out with a press release on Thursday telling everyone that Calhoun would be back for at least another season?

Well, Calhoun had been getting plenty of phone calls from family, friends and – perhaps most significantly – recruits, wondering what his future entailed. Calhoun has decided to nip all the rumors in the bud.

Calhoun may be meeting with the media some time next week, as he normally does a week or so after UConn's season ends. After that, he's off to a wedding somewhere warm (not sure where) for a little R&R to get away from it all. He could use that right now.

Calhoun said that Hasheem Thabeet will spend the next couple of weeks with his family, trying to decide whether to turn pro or return to UConn for his senior year. Thabeet's mom is here from her native Tanzania, and they were slated to head down to head to Thabeet's aunt's home in New York on Thursday afternoon (though judging by his reported encounter with Michael Phelps recently, it appears Hasheem is already in the Big Apple).

Calhoun said he's "tentatively" slated to meet with Thabeet on Monday. The conventional wisdom (not from Calhoun, mind you) is that Thabeet is definitely going pro. We may not know for sure for a couple of weeks.

"Given his history, (he won't decide) until the end, which is April 25," Calhoun said.

I asked Calhoun if, like last season, any transfers were forthcoming. He said that it's too soon after the season to truly determine that, but added that no one has approached him about a transfer to this point.

Oh, and in other news: Darius Smith, the combo guard out of Chicago who verbally committed to UConn a couple of weeks ago, makes his first trip to Storrs this weekend for an official visit.

Calhoun Will Return Next Season

2009-04-09T16:52:00.001-04:00

With rumors and reports of his potential retirement in the air -- and with recruits wondering whether or not this would be the case -- UConn has released the following, announcing that Jim Calhoun will be back on the sidelines next season:

University of Connecticut head men’s basketball coach Jim Calhoun will return for the 2009-10 season, it was announced by the school Thursday.

“It is my full intention to return for the 2009-10 season,” said Calhoun. “I look forward to coaching next season and to continuing as the head coach at Connecticut into the future. In many ways, the journey of this past season has made me realize how much I love coaching this game, how much I love my kids and how much I enjoy being at Connecticut.”

“I am very excited that Coach Calhoun will continue as our head men’s basketball coach,” said UConn Director of Athletics Jeffrey Hathaway. “We look forward to continued success in our men’s basketball program for years to come under the leadership of our Hall of Fame coach.”

Calhoun completed his 23 rd season at UConn in 2008-09, his 37 th year as a collegiate head coach. He has compiled a career record of 805-342 and is No. 6 all-time in NCAA Division I Basketball history with his 805 career wins. He has a record of 557-205 in his 23 seasons at Connecticut. Coach Calhoun led the Huskies to the 2009 NCAA Final Four, the program’s third trip to the Final Four, and guided UConn to the 2004 and 1999 NCAA National Championship. He was a 2005 inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

More to come ...

Hash in the House

2009-04-07T00:27:00.003-04:00

Hasheem Thabeet, bedecked in some cool sunglasses, took in Monday night's national championship game with UConn graduate student-manager Justin Evanovic. Thabeet was presented with his second straight national defensive player of the year award the night before. He was besieged by autograph-seekers after the game and asked security to help usher him out, but no such luck.

Bird, Magic and Slash

2009-04-06T20:49:00.003-04:00

Covering the national championship game tonight for the Register. Just sat in on Magic and Larry's press conference, commemorating the 30th anniversary of their historic game. Pretty cool stuff. These two have been involved in some of the greatest basketball games ever played, and certainly the greatest rivalry. This, however, was not one of their proudest moments (turn the volume up a little bit).

Some quick highlights of the presser:

***Bird says he's never watched the 1979 Indiana State-Michigan State game, in which Magic's Spartans beat Bird's Sycamores.

"Why?" he asked, rhetorically. "Truthfully, I can't remember a lot of games I've played in."

Magic, of course, has watched it quite a bit.

"I watch it enough for him and I," he said, with his trademark smile.

"Every day," chirped in Bird.

"Every day, that's right."

"Especially if he knows he's gonna be with me."

"You know, Larry is so competitive, just like I am. I mean, if he had won it, trust me, I wouldn't have watched it, either. Just like I don't watch '84, when the Celtics beat us."

"Or ''85 or '87. I don't remember them years, for some reason."

***Magic called Bird "one of my best friends" and later added, "There would be no Magic without Larry Bird."

***Magic says Tom Izzo and Roy Williams are two of the top three coaches currently in college basketball. The third? Coach K. No mention of Jim Calhoun.

***Magic called new Hall of Fame inductee Michael Jordan "the greatest in the air that I've ever seen, and Larry Bird is the greatest that ever played on the ground, because Larry couldn't jump that high, so … (holding his fingers apart about an inch)."

"It's not like you were flying through the air," Bird noted. "You'd trip over the painted lines."

In other events:

***I'm sitting in my hotel room Sunday night, and outside by the Riverwalk, there's a Fergie concert going on, as part of the Final Four's free concert series. I'm not a Fergie fan (though I hear she's Fergilicious), but it was impossible not to hear the show. Then, I hear her say, "And now, I'd like to welcome on the stage my good friend …" and the opening chords of "Sweet Child O'Mine" break out.

I get off my chair, look out the window and, sure enough, onstage and on the big screen, it's Slash. Pretty wild. I went outside and caught the end of their version of "Barracuda," by Heart.

I was telling a friend not long ago that I had never been to a concert where a big star popped up onstage, unannounced, and jammed. This wasn't exactly Keith Moon sitting in on the bongos with Led Zeppelin in 1977, but it wasn't bad.

***Heading down to courtside to watch the national championship game. Should be fun.

The Grades Are In ...

2009-04-05T18:36:00.005-04:00

No, the accompanying photo wasn't some sort of "Dewey Defeats Truman" mistake by the Register. It was a dummy sheet that was to be passed out on Monday night if the Huskies had won the national title, as many other papers do.

Guess we won't be needing this page anymore.

Still, it was a terrific season for the Huskies. If basketball was an accredited college course at UConn (no jokes, please), this year's team would certainly get an 'A.'

They were never terribly deep, without a truly reliable 3-point shooting threat and, unlike many Husky teams of the past – even ones that fizzled early in the NCAA tournament – may not have had a player who'll ever be an NBA All-Star. Hasheem Thabeet? Maybe, but certainly not for a long while.

And, of course, the team was rocked by controversy nearly from Day One – or even before that. There was Nate Miles' expulsion, Stanley Robinson sitting out the first semester for personal reasons. There was Jim Calhoun's well-publicized shouting match with a "political activist" (Mr. Krayeske's criticisms seem a bit silly in light of John Calipari's recent contract, don't they? Calhoun couldn't help getting in a dig on Saturday night: "This is where coaches really – I shouldn't even say this – earn their money. Bad thing for me to say, I guess, although thank God for the John Caliparis of the world.")

There was Jerome Dyson's season-ending knee injury, Calhoun's recurring health issues and, of course, the allegations of recruiting improprieties that were broke on the eve of UConn's Sweet 16 matchup with Purdue two weeks ago.

Through it all, the Huskies kept winning: 15-3 in the Big East, 8-1 in Big East road games, 9-1 on the road overall, 17-3 in road or neutral-court games. Impressive. Very impressive.

Anyway, here's how we'd grade this year's Huskies:

Jeff Adrien: B+ :This was a solid 'A' up until the final month of the season. Save for a 25-point game against Notre Dame on Senior Day and a 23-point game in a second-round NCAA tourney game against Texas A&M, Adrien was hardly the guaranteed double-double threat over the season's final several weeks. Still, a terrific career for "The Warrior," and hopefully an NBA team finds a place for a kid who'll show up on time and work hard every day, even if he's undersized.

A.J. Price: A – : His season started off slow (understandably, as he had to get over the mental and physical hurdle of his torn ACL) and ended with a 5-for-20 clunker against Michigan State. In between, Price put the team on his back, raised his NBA stock considerably and closed out one of the more remarkable careers in UConn history in high style.

Craig Austrie: C+ : Other than a 17-point effort against Purdue in the Sweet 16, his shot was nowhere to be found for the last couple of months. Made up for it with some good defensive play. Hard to be too harsh a grader on a steady, if unspectacular, player.

Jerome Dyson: I : Played the best basketball of his life early in the season: unselfish, more mature and in-control. Still playing at a high level when he went down with a season-ending knee injury on Feb. 11.

Gavin Edwards: C+ : Skilled and talented offensively, but still needs to get tougher and stop committing silly fouls.

Jonathan Mandeldove: I: Saw 16 minutes of action this season. Some walk-ons saw nearly as much.

Stanley Robinson: A – : The last few weeks were an A+, but it took 'Sticks' a long time to get back in the groove after sitting out the first semester. As gifted an athlete as I've ever seen on the basketball court.

Hasheem Thabeet: A – :We all know the weaknesses, but the man is an All-American, the Big East Co-Player of the Year, and is going to be a top-five NBA draft pick..

Donnell Beverly: I: What little we've seen of him, we've liked. We just haven't seen enough. For whatever reason, doesn't seem to be Calhoun's type of player.

Scottie Haralson: I: Again, not enough PT to make a determination. Shot just 28.6 percent from 3-point land as a 3-point specialist, however.

Kemba Walker: B+ : At times a bit out of control, at times (like in the Elite Eight against Missouri) a younger version of Ty Lawson. This was likely the start of a great UConn career for Walker.

Jim Calhoun: A – : Despite all the distractions, kept his team focused and winning. What could he have done better? Maybe give certain players (Edwards, Beverly) a little more rope. Certainly could have handled the Krayeske situation better. Certainly should have handled losing the six-OT classic to Syracuse and the postgame handshake with Jim Boeheim better. (We'll stay away from the recruiting allegations because, for now, they're just that – allegations). Otherwise, an excellent job this year by Calhoun.

***Oh, and if I may, a rant against the NCAA. For one, the wireless Internet courtside at Ford Field Saturday night barely worked throughout the game. I and many other writers were unable to blog during the game, or send our game story in immediately after the final whistle. It wasn't until I moved my laptop to another room, with only about a half-hour until deadline, that I was able to get back online. What's worse is that the NCAA charges each writer $16 per day for wireless – then, when we need it the most, the wireless doesn't work.

Then there's this: we were told that, if we wanted to stay at the media hotel, we had to stay a minimum of four nights. OK, so with player availability starting Thursday afternoon, we figured we'd fly in Thursday morning and stay Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday – and Monday, if necessary. This morning, we're told that the four-day minimum starts on Friday! That means, even if the team we cover loses on Saturday, we still have to pay for our hotels through Monday night. What it really means is that it's a five-day minimum, because, as previously mentioned, we had to be here Thursday for player availability.

Sorry if this sounds like a whining reporter. And yes, I know, our papers are paying for the hotel and wireless Internet, not us. Still, it's obscene to think the NCAA – of all entities – has to soak us like that. Does the NCAA really need the money that badly?

Detroit Breakdown

2009-04-04T23:45:00.004-04:00

And so it ends for Jim Calhoun and the UConn Huskies, in the most unlikely of places: the Final Four. Calhoun had been a perfect 4-0 in the Final Four prior to Saturday night's 82-73 loss to an impressive, unrelenting, extremely well-coached Michigan State team.

It's too easy to say the Spartans wanted it more, though with a large portion of the NCAA tourney-record 72,456 fans at Ford Field bedecked in Sparty green, it's easy to see why MSU might have had a little more incentive. The Huskies played hard, they just didn't play particularly well: 16 turnovers, 21-for-33 foul shooting, 12-for-34 shooting in the second half, outscored 33-7 off the bench. The rebounding totals were even at 42 apiece, but the Spartans grabbed 18 offensive boards and seemingly every big rebound they needed down the stretch.

So now that the Huskies' season is over, what about the UConn careers of Calhoun and Hasheem Thabeet? Hard to decipher from their postgame comments (though it says here that Calhoun stays and Thabeet goes to become an NBA lottery pick).

First, Calhoun: "Very simply, I am the head coach of University of Connecticut, and I fully expect to be the head coach of the University of Connecticut," Calhoun said after the Huskies' national semifinal loss to Michigan State on Saturday. "During the next two, three, four, five months, which I've done every year for the past 10 years, I will reflect on some things. Do I have a little more things that I have to reflect on this year? Yes, I do. I'd be less than candid by not saying that. Were there some incredible disappointments by certain people who took things they have no idea about, unfortunately, and just started to jump? That's hurtful, I'm a human being. These are people I respect, care for and like, and they seem to say, 'We'll side with them and see if he's right.' But, I'm a pretty tough guy, I don't run from things."

Calhoun added that his happiest times over the past couple of weeks, since allegations of illegal recruiting broke in a Yahoo ! Sports story, have been with his players.

"That's why, in my opinion, this is one of the great teams in UConn history," he said. "Were they the greatest talent-wise? No. Were they as talented as some teams that didn't make the Final Four? No. But, it's something special, to get where they have been. I'm always going to love this team, coming off the most difficult summer of my life, physically … it's been incredible."

Thabeet was evasive when asked if he had just played his final game in a Husky uniform. To hear him talk, he's coming back – but I wouldn't bet on it.

"I'm a junior, so hopefully I can come back for my senior year," he said. "I was looking forward to the game on Monday, we didn't make it … I get one more chance … I'll listen to what the coaches tell me. They've pointed me to success."

Calhoun was asked if he believed Thabeet would return.

"I think his basketball future is incredibly unlimited, so it would be very difficult for me to look him in the eye and say, 'By the way, you can't move on.' But that's certainly going to be his choice. Would I like (him to return)? I would like to have him with me next year, yeah."

***One thing is certain: seniors A.J. Price, Craig Austrie and Jeff Adrien have played their final games as Huskies. For Price, it ends an incredible five-year journey of triumph and near-tragedy.

"I'll miss the program, I'll miss playing for Coach Calhoun, miss putting on the UConn jersey, I'll miss all that," said Price. "But, the show must go on. That's the beauty of life, you've got to keep on pushing and keep on struggling, and look forward to the next thing."

Price could be a first-round NBA draft pick in June. Adrien is also hoping to be drafted. Austrie hopes to continue his basketball career, as well, be it in the U.S. or overseas.

"It's not a good feeling," he said of the end of his college career. "I had expectations, I thought it was going to end a little different. But, it obviously didn't."

***UConn is able to roll out some impressive alumni to speak to its players throughout the season, but it's hard to top what Michigan State was able to offer on Saturday.

MSU alum Earvin "Magic" Johnson spoke with the Spartan players in the locker room prior to the Final Four bout with UConn. Ex-San Francisco 49er coach Steve Mariucci (a close friend of MSU coach Tom Izzo) and Minnesota Viking line coach Pat Morris also spoke. But it was Magic who stole the show.

"Nobody tops Earvin," Izzo said. "He's the best. I just love having him around and love what he did."

***Calhoun wasn't about to blame the pro-Spartan crowd for his team's loss.

"It could have been 7,000 people, as far as I'm concerned," he said. "I thought the court was great, everything about it was fantastic, except the outcome."

Price agreed.

"It didn't make a difference at all. When you're on the court, you're not paying attention to the crowd. You pay attention to the game."

***Tempers flared a bit with 1:55 to go in the half. Price had a shot blocked, Adrien grabbed the loose ball and was fouled going in for a layup by Walton. Walton quickly popped up and exchanged words with Adrien, and MSU's Marquise Gray stepped in and started barking at Adrien, as well. Thabeet yapped back at Gray, players had to be separated, Calhoun came out on the floor from the other side of the court, and order was eventually restored.

No technicals assessed, just a pair of free throws for Adrien (and he hit them!!!).

***Some more numbers: Price was 5-for-20 from the floor, had just one assist and two turnovers. In fact, UConn had just eight assists – its lowest total since it had only six in a 74-63 loss to Georgetown on Dec. 28, 2008.

Tonight was the first game this season UConn lost after scoring 70 or more points, ending a run of 16 straight games.

Stanley Robinson had 15 points and 13 boards but five turnovers. Freshman Kemba Walker, the start of UConn's Elite Eight win over Missouri, shot 3-for-9 from the foul line (missing his first five!).

The loss to No. 8 Michigan State leaves UConn 11-5 against ranked teams this season.

PRE-GAME PRIMER: Spartan Surroundings

2009-04-04T17:29:00.005-04:00

Greetings from courtside at Ford Field, where a sea of green is poised to greet the "home" UConn Huskies for tonight's Final Four matchup. There were a lot of Sparty fans out on the streets of Detroit on my walk to the arena this afternoon, and as people still file into this cavernous stadium, it appears a lot of them will be in the building tonight.

But, as evidenced by the accompanying picture, there are plenty of UConn fans here, too.

Some sights and sounds from courtside:

***Magic Johnson just walked by, sporting his Sparty green. He had some fun with the UConn student section, which didn't seem to mind that he was wearing Michigan State gear and, rather, seemed awed by his presence.

***While an assistant coach at UMass, current UConn assistant Patrick Sellers recruited Michigan State's Goran Suton hard. Sellers even called up Suton's mother and introduced himself in her native Bosnian language, saying something to the effect of "I played basketball, too." Then, Michigan State went after Suton, who lived in Lansing, Mich. at the time, and he wound up going there.

***UConn had a hard, 50-minute practice at Wayne State University on Friday morning, before its open workout at Ford Field. Sellers said Stanley Robinson has been particularly impressive in practice lately, in every aspect of the game.

***Robinson's pre-taped message on the big screen: "This is Sticks, and welcome to the NCAA Final Four. Let's have some fun out there."

***Took a wrong turn on the way to courtside and walked by the visitors' locker rooms. Standing outside of the Michigan State locker room was Steve Mariucci, the former San Francisco 49er head coach who is close friends with fellow Upper Peninsula native Tom Izzo.

***Spotting UConn president Michael Hogan in the stands while the crowd was still sparse a good 90 minutes before tip-off, the UConn student section broke into a chant of "Hogan! Hogan!" Didn't realize he was so popular.

***Congrats to UConn radio man Joe D'Ambrosio, new (occasional) radio voice of the New Britain Rock Cats (he'll do about 50-60 games this season for WTIC and/or wtic.com).

What's New, Pussycat?

2009-04-04T16:13:00.002-04:00

Heading over to Ford Field at 4 p.m. today meant one thing -- couldn't go see the Pussycat Dolls perform a free concert right outside our hotel. Didn't want to hear the Pussycat Dolls, mind you ... just see them. Oh well ... there's always Fergie and Staind tomorrow (not a big fan of either, but they will be playing as part of the Final Four's free concert series out by the Riverwalk, for those of you in Detroit).

One thing was evident on the mile-long walk from the hotel to Ford Field: Sparty is definitely in the house. It was like St. Patrick's Day, there was so much green flooding the streets. I scoffed at Jim Calhoun's suggestion that there would be 50-60,000 Michigan State fans at tonight's game, and while that still is an overstatement, I wouldn't be surprised at all to see about 20-30,000 of them tonight.

Check back later ...

Final(ly) Four

2009-04-03T19:09:00.008-04:00

Here we are, on the eve of the Final Four. Nowhere I'd rather be right now, and certainly nowhere Jim Calhoun would rather be, either.

Calhoun seems in particularly good spirits these days – chatting with UConn cheerleaders, joking with reporters (presumably none of them from Yahoo!), a sunny disposition on his face at nearly all times. Scandal? What's that, other than Patty Smythe's cheesy '80's band? Calhoun is in his element, relevant again two years removed from being rejected by even the N.I.T., and truly in love with his team.

It may sound blasphemous, but I really believe that, even if the Huskies lose tomorrow night, Calhoun – as bad a loser as there is in sports – will be OK with it. Don't get me wrong, he wants to win more than anything. But he also realizes how much adversity this team has already overcome, and has already helped him get through this most trying of seasons.

"I think he loves the team," said associate head coach and Calhoun confidante George Blaney. "Anytime you coach a team, things happen during the course of the year – some are mini-crises, some are fairly large crises – and you always deal with them. He has enjoyed this team, and on top of that, we didn't lose very often. Winning helps a lot. This is a good group. They work hard, they're fun to be around, there's a lot of really, really smart guys. I think he has a special bond with this group."

I asked Blaney if he thinks Calhoun is pondering retirement after this season, no matter how it ends.

"We have heart-to-hearts about every 15 minutes," Blaney said, with a chuckle. "We talk about the future all the time. I always tell him, 'We have our most fun in the gym.' That's where he and I like to be, and I'm hoping we stay there as long as we can."

So the advice Blaney would give him in a few weeks, if Calhoun seeks it?

"We like to be in the gym."

***Of course, also hanging in the air is whether Hasheem Thabeet will go pro after this season. It seems a foregone conclusion, but Thabeet insists he hasn't made his decision yet.

And when will he make it?

"After we win Monday night and go back for the parade in Connecticut," Thabeet said. "That's when I'll know what I need to do. I've got great advice last year from the coaches and I made the decision to come back. This year, they're going to assist me again with the decision either to come back or not. I really respect them, and their decision means something to me."

***A little X's and O's: Michigan State is probably as close to a Big East team the Huskies have faced so far in the NCAA tournament – and certainly as close as one will find in the slow-down Big Ten.

"They're different from other Big Ten schools," senior forward Jeff Adrien noted. "They like to run and they rebound, they're very physical. I think that's really why they won the Big 10 (regular season) this year, with their different style."

Indeed, the Spartans lead the nation in rebounding margin at plus-9.6 (UConn is third at 9.2; Pittsburgh is No. 2 at 9.3). Of course, outrebounding Big Ten foes is a lot different than outrebounding Big East opponents.

***Some defensive matchups: Travis Walton, the Spartans' defensive specialist, will guard A.J. Price.

"We've put him up against the best that each conference has to offer," MSU coach Tom Izzo said of Walton, the Big Ten's defensive player of the year. "Sometimes it's been 6-foot-6 guys, sometimes it's been 5-10 guys. Ninety-nine percent of the time, he's answered the bell. He's got a little tougher task ahead of him (tonight). But if there's anybody I feel comfortable doing it, it's him."

Walker appreciates the challenge ahead.

"He is a great player," he said of Price. "He makes big-time shots, so it's going to be a tough cover for me to kind of contain him. The main thing is to try to contain him and don't let him embarrass me in front of my home crowd."

Expect Raymar Morgan, a 6-8 junior forward who has battled illness and injury this season, to guard UConn's 6-9 jumping jack, Stanley Robinson.

"I think we have to stay in contact with (Robinson), because if we don't, those jets go off in his legs and he kind of leaps above everybody," Izzo said. "I think you're going to have to have contact if you have a big or a small guy on him. Raymar is a decent matchup for him."

Meanwhile, 6-7 forward Jeff Adrien – and not Thabeet – is likely to start off on MSU's Goran Suton, a 6-10 center who can step out and hit the mid-range jumper or 3-pointer.

***Another day, another brushfire: Calhoun addressed a column in Friday's Detroit Free-Press that insinuated that if he didn't come clean about the program's illegal recruiting allegations, he is essentially admitting guilt.

"I can't say anything," Calhoun said. "The NCAA has put a gag order. While they're doing their – not an investigation right now, but a review – they have told us that we cannot speak to the facts … so please don't think by my silence about what's been swirling around a little bit – quite a bit, actually – that it's not because I don’t want to say anything, it's because I can't say anything else. We've been put on a restraining order while the NCAA continues its review."

***Playing inside a cavernous football stadium can wreak havoc on basketball players' shooting. But after practices at Ford Field on Thursday and Friday, the Huskies aren't too worried.

"At first it was a problem, but we took plenty of shots out there, got our touch, and I feel comfortable right now," said senior guard Craig Austrie.

Added Blaney: "The (shooting) background is dark, so it doesn't give you the depth perception that a lot of these places give you. So, in my opinion, it has not really been a big adjustment for the shooters at all. It could be different for the game, with all the people in there, (but) I don't think so."

Blaney added that the rims used for tonight's game will be new, but will have more consistency than rims in Final Fours past.

"It's not as difficult to come into a new place and shoot as it used to be," he said. "You really used to have to know what the rims will do. Now, they're pretty consistent."
The Huskies will have a shootaround today to further get acclimated to the surroundings.

***What was Scandal's biggest hit?

***MSU sophomore guard Chris Allen's aunt and uncle live next door to Magic Johnson's parents in Lansing, Mich. That certainly made Tom Izzo's recruitment of Allen, a Georgia native, much easier.

***Jerome Dyson (knee) flew in on a 6 a.m. flight on Friday after staying back for classes in Storrs. He'll participate in shootaround tonight (no layups, just jumpers) and watch the game on the bench, in uniform.

Any chance of getting in for a few token seconds, in case of a blowout?

"I'll be in (Calhoun's) ear the whole time," Dyson joked.

***Dyson said the Huskies will be wearing their gray uniforms tomorrow night.

***Some 25,000 Spartan fans took in MSU's open practice today. They won't all be here tomorrow night, obviously, since today's practices were free to the public and didn't require a ticket.

After the workout, MSU players waved "Thank yous" to the crowd. There's a real sense that the Spartans can serve as a form of tonic to help the city of Detroit get through its rough economic times.

"Detroit has been struggling," said Spartan guard Kalin Lucas. "A lot of people have been getting laid off and stuff like that. So, us playing here in the Final Four, being a Michigan team playing, it can bring a smile to everybody that stays in the city of Detroit.

***One of the big brouhahas out here was the fact that North Carolina guard Ty Lawson was at a Greektown casino playing craps on Wednesday night. Izzo said he told his team before they arrived that the casinos around here were off-limits, though it may not have totally hit home.

"You bet, you lose," said Suton. "I don't really remember him talking about it that much. You guys?"

Lucas: "No, he ain't talk about it."

Walton: "I don't think they remember. But he just said, 'No gambling.' We don't want that distracting us."

Calhoun on the subject:

"Our curfew has been tight. We told them that was off-limits. (Lawson) is of age. I'm not speaking for Roy (Williams) or anybody else, I just don't really find it that problematic. A person of age is allowed to do what he wants to do, as long as it's legal.

"I'm sure if he had to do it over again, just like some other things in life, you do them over again. I remember the YouTube thing – I meant what I said, I just wouldn't have said it the same way … a do-over kind of thing."

By "YouTube thing," Calhoun meant the Ken Krayeske affair. Oh, and it was printed as "U2 thing" in the transcripts. I seriously doubt Calhoun has any inkling who Bono or The Edge are.

Oh, and sticking on the gambling topic, Calhoun added: "The governor (of Connecticut), by the way, I believe bet with the governor of Missouri – that's another issue for another day. I really don't look at that as being a major issue, no."

We assume he was kidding.

***A question posed to Suton at today's presser.

Q: Goran, can you tell me a little bit about your path to the University of Michigan …?

SUTON: I have to correct you with that. Michigan State University. We don't want to be confused with the U of M.

So that's it for now. I'm off to dinner and Greektown. I'll say hi to Ty Lawson for y'all.

"He Was Born To Do This"

2009-04-03T10:00:00.004-04:00

Here's a story from today's Register on A.J. Price and his father, Tony, who went to the Final Four 30 years ago with Penn and lost to -- ironically enough -- Michigan State. Also some video of A.J. talking yesterday.

50,000 Spartan Fans? Could Be Wrong

2009-03-31T20:00:00.002-04:00

Jim Calhoun has been known to exaggerate – especially if it winds up somehow helping his team.

On Monday, when asked about Michigan State’s possible homecourt advantage on Saturday playing at 72,000-seat Ford Field, only about 90 miles from campus, Calhoun said: “Clearly, when you talk about 72,000, I’m sure there will be 50 or 60,000 Michigan State fans there, as well there would be (for UConn) if we were playing up here.”

In truth, there will be nowhere near 50-60,000 Spartan fans at Ford Field on Saturday.

Each of the Final Four schools (UConn, Michigan State, North Carolina and Villanova) have been allotted 3,750 tickets to disperse. After that, virtually all the rest of the tickets are spoken for – from tickets distributed to the host committee, the National Association of Basketball Coaches, CBS Sports, Division 1 athletic directors, the NCAA, and to the general public.

More than 20,000 tickets were allocated to the general public in a lottery drawing done nearly a year ago. According to Cameron Schuh, the NCAA’s associate director for public and media relations, nearly one in seven attendees at the Final Four will be from the Detroit or Michigan area. Even if nearly all of them were Michigan State fans, added to the 3,750 tickets dispersed to the school, that would only account for about 7,000 fans.

I'm sure some Spartan fans from nearby will find ways to score some ducats. But the idea that there will be 50-60,000 of them strong? I'd be shocked if it approached 10,000.

“I’m sure there will be a green tint (to the crowd),” said Schuh, “but by no means will it be this outweighing of Michigan State support.”

But then, Calhoun has never let the facts get in the way of a good motivational story for his team. He's going into Saturday's Final Four game feeling like a road team, and the Huskies went 9-1 on the road this season and are 8-1 at neutral sites.

According to Schuh, here’s a breakdown of how the 72,000 tickets for the event have been allocated:

General public – 28%

Teams – 23%

Host committee – 10%

NABC – 6%

CBS/Corporate family – 5%

Division I athletics directors – 7%

NCAA – 21% (The NCAA block isn’t limited to staff only – it’s more like a catch-all to account for any other groups that the NCAA provides tickets to: vendors, licensees, constituent organizations, governance committees, etc.)

Smith: Huskies Are "We" Now

2009-03-30T21:59:00.001-04:00

Darius Smith has yet to visit the UConn campus, but he hopes to soon.

“Hopefully, after we win the title,” Smith said on Monday.

Smith can refer to the Huskies as “we,” because the 6-foot-2 combo guard out of Chicago has made a verbal commitment to UConn.

“Their coaching style and their playing style – it all just took me in,” said Smith, a senior at Marshall Metropolitan High. “They get up and down the court, and I’m that type of guy.”

UConn assistant coach Patrick Sellers was the lead man in Smith’s recruitment, making visits to see him play when the Huskies were in Milwaukee to play Marquette, among several other times.

“I thought he had a house out here,” Smith joked. “The little things Coach Sellers was doing: he’d come up to talk to me, or when he couldn’t even talk to me. His presence was felt.”

In addition to UConn, Smith was heavily recruited by Marquette, Cincinnati, Arizona State, Memphis, UCLA, Duke, Indiana and Missouri. His final five schools were Arizona State, Cincinnati, Duke, Memphis and UConn.

Allegations of illegal recruiting surrounding the UConn program were no bother to Smith. He said he’s comfortable that UConn won’t receive any harsh penalties.

Smith, who is ranked as the No. 21 shooting guard in the nation for his class by scout.com, averaged 23 points per game this season. He’s equally adept at point guard and shooting guard, but will likely be asked to fill the latter role at UConn. With Kemba Walker, the Huskies are pretty well set at the point.

“Whatever they need from him to win,” said Henry Cotton, Smith’s coach at Metropolitan Marshall who Smith refers to as “dad.” (Cotton and Smith’s mother, Sharon, are good friends).

“He’s a good defender,” Cotton added. “His defense creates his offense. He can create plays for himself and for others, that’s why he chose UConn. (And) you have to defend his shot at all times.”

Both Cotton and Smith said that Smith is already an academic qualifier. Smith said he wants to major in architecture.

Darius Smith Commits

2009-03-30T20:13:00.003-04:00

Darius Smith, a combo guard out of Marshall High in Chicago, has committed to UConn. Smith, 6-foot-2, is a top-notch scorer and was Chicago's player of the year.

More to come on this ...

H to the Izzo

2009-03-30T18:42:00.006-04:00

Check out tomorrow's Register for a feature on the (somewhat unlikely) friendship between Jim Calhoun and Tom Izzo.

Throughout the season, Calhoun has told us several times, "I talked to Tom Izzo last night …" We've always wondered what exactly goes on in those conversations, and here's a snippet: Last month, shortly after the whole "not one dime back" controversy, Calhoun got a call from Izzo.

"Thanks," said Izzo.

"What for?" Calhoun asked.

"Now, we're all alerted that we're going to get asked that same question. You had to be the guinea pig, but that's tough."

It's not one of the more likely friendships in college basketball: Calhoun, the 66-year-old cantankerous Irishman from Boston; Izzo, the 54-year-old affable Italian from Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Their personalities, at least off the court, are pretty different. Veteran UConn beat writers still talk about the time when, the night before a UConn-Michigan State game nine years ago out in East Lansing, Izzo broke away from a boosters event at a local restaurant to shoot the breeze with the enemy reporters for a short time. That's not exactly something Calhoun would be wont to do.

Still, it's safe to say that Izzo is one of Calhoun's best friends in the coaching fraternity.

"I couldn't have more respect for him," said Calhoun. "I consider him a dear friend."

Now, Calhoun has been known to overstate his friendships with other coaches. If nothing else, Izzo certainly upholds the mutual admiration society going on between the two coaches.

"I've always appreciated guys who are demanding, who hold people accountable," Izzo said. "Every year I call him a couple off times. I just love the way his teams play, love the way he develops players. He gets so many guys where you're like, 'God, where did he come from? He wasn't on any All-America list.' He's a very good judge of talent. Like all coaches in my world, I try to learn from them. He's one that's been successful."

Read more in tomorrow's Register …

***Prior to the loss at Pittsburgh on March 7, Jerome Dyson told me – with straight face – that he could return to action if the Huskies make it to the Final Four.

"It's not gonna happen," Calhoun said on Monday.

Not without some minor protestations from Dyson, however.

"I still do feel like that. I feel good," he said. "The doctors told me that if this was my last year or something like that, there would still be a chance of me playing. But the risks outweigh the positives at this point – not going out there and risking tearing it again over having a full year to do my thing next year.

"I don't have any say in it. If they don't want me to play, I'm not going to play."

***Calhoun is playing up the fact that the Spartans could have a huge homecourt advantage, with Saturday's game being played at Ford Field, about 90 miles from East Lansing.

"We’ll have the white (or gray) uniforms on, that’s the closest we’ll be to being the home team, I think," he said. "It's just a fact of life we're going to have to face. I'm treating it like a road game, to be honest with you … I guess when the 50,000 people start screaming, it's going to matter because I can't talk to my team. Will it be more like a road game? Sure it will be."

Still, only 3,750 tickets are dispersed to each team. The rest have probably all been sold, and it's a safe bet not a lot of Michigan State fans bought them, fully expecting to be in the Final Four. Sure, there will be more Spartan fans than Husky fans in Detroit (like there were at least twice as many Mizzou fans as UConn fans in Glendale on Saturday). But 50,000 MSU fans? Doubt it.

***I'm more old-school when it comes to rap (Public Enemy, BDP, Beastie Boys), but today's music quiz question: Who performed the song "H to the Izzo"?

***Stanley Robinson wasn't available for today's media availability. Seems Sticks wasn't pleased with how his hair looked.

***Jeff Adrien warmed up and stretched with the team and shot free throws, but didn't participate fully in practice due to tendonitis in his right knee. He'll be fine for Saturday. Hasheem Thabeet (left index finger) practiced and is fine.

***Rashad Anderson called A.J. Price the other day.

"He told us, it's something special, you're going to remember it, and we need to go there and make the most of it and try to finish this thing off," Price said.

Thirty years ago, A.J.'s dad, Tony, played in the Final Four with Penn. The Quakers lost to Magic Johnson's Michigan State, who went on to beat Larry Bird and Indiana State.

"We found it kind of ironic, going to the Final Four and playing the same team."

***UConn will leave for Detroit after practice Wednesday in Storrs. They'll get to practice twice inside Ford Field – for about an hour, 45 minutes on Thursday in a closed practice, and again in an open practice on Friday. That's new this year: in the past, teams only had one open practice, and that was it. This will help the Huskies get used to the cavernous background of Ford Field.

***The burgeoning question of the day: How will Calhoun react to the raised court at Ford Field?
"That's a very interesting, deep question," he said, with a smile. "I didn't like Purdue, I didn't like Minnesota, I didn’t like being below, because it's hard to get at people that way. I used to be able to. George (Blaney) might like it a lot better."

Indeed, Blaney is often the target of Calhoun's in-game rants.

Huskies "'Beet" Up a Bit

2009-03-30T12:13:00.003-04:00

Both Hasheem Thabeet and Jeff Adrien could be a little banged up in practice over the next few days, but they should be fine for Saturday's Final Four bout with Michigan State.

Thabeet suffered a bruised left ring finer and a slight sprain of the ring and middle finger on his left hand after diving for a loose ball in Saturday's Elite Eight win over Missouri.

"It's on his off hand, but he does block a lot of shots with that hand," Jim Calhoun noted. "He's got a pretty good-sized contusion there. I don't think it will effect him at gametime, but it may effect him the next couple of days in practice."

Adrien, meanwhile, has tendonitis (Calhoun didn't specify where) and may sit out practice today. Calhoun expects him to be fine on Saturday, as well.

Detroit: It's Not Terrible

2009-03-29T19:41:00.005-04:00

O.K., that's not exactly a Chamber of Commerce, ringing endorsement for the Motor City. But for those who think Detroit is nothing but urban blight and Devil's Night ... well, it's not all that bad. At least the area around Ford Field, where UConn will be playing Michigan State on Saturday at 6:07 p.m. in the Final Four. Step outside this general area at your own risk.

I stayed in Detroit a few times while on the Red Sox beat, always at a hotel near Comerica Field (which practically abuts Ford Field). I'd usually stay at the Courtyard Marriott that's a few blocks away from Comerica. I'd walk to the ballpark each day and never once feared for my life -- which is more than some of the veteran beat guys could say in their days covering games at Tiger Stadium. (Again, not exactly a ringing endorsement, I know). There's also a People Mover to get you around the downtown area.

Anyway, right across the street from Comerica is the Hockeytown Cafe, a big, two-story sports bar. You don't have to be a hockey fan to enjoy this place, just a beer fan. There's lots of it, and lots of TVs to watch sports. Real cool place.

There are some other bars and restaurants in the area that are decent, as well. Walk a few more blocks (towards the hotels) and you hit Greektown, which is a cool little area. There's a casino (if you like to gamble) and plenty of decent restaurants and bars.

And right across the river, in Windsor, Ont., there are plenty more casinos. I've still got a $2.50 chip I need to redeem there from the last time I went, in 2006. No idea why I still have it.

When you add in the fact that the NCAA will surely have plenty of events going on in the area for Final Four fans, I would certainly recommend a trip to the city, if you can afford it. It's not Vegas -- it's not even Phoenix, certainly not weather-wise -- but it's not too bad.

So there you have it: Detroit, It's Not Terrible. Quite a slogan, eh?

Thabeet's Finger Bruised

2009-03-29T17:14:00.002-04:00

Hasheem Thabeet has a bruised left ring finger and a slight sprain of the ring and middle finger on his left hand from yesterday's game.

UConn athletic trainer James Doran expects him participate fully in practice tomorrow and does not expect him to be limited at all.

The team traveled home right after the game Saturday and arrived back in Connecticut at 4 a.m. (about five hours before I arrived). There was a brief team meeting this afternoon, but no practice.

The MC 5

2009-03-28T22:17:00.010-04:00

Lots of great music from Detroit specifically and Michigan in general. Be prepared for lots of cheesy musical references in this space over the next week or so.

UConn is off to the Motor City for its third trip to the Final Four, all within the past decade. They'll play the winner of tomorrow's Midwest Regional final between Louisville and Michigan State on Saturday at Ford Field in Detroit.

"I'm ecstatic," said 23rd-year head coach Jim Calhoun. "The first one (1999) was emotional, the second one (2004) was actually wonderful because we had the best team in the country, in my opinion. I'm going now with a group who found a way – found a way to get to a Final Four. That's a hard, hard, hard thing to do.

"I couldn't be happier."

UConn won national titles in its previous two trips, which also happened to come after winning West Regional championships in Phoenix. As they did (or didn't) do in 2004, the Huskies decided not to cut down the nets following Saturday's win, as is tradition with most teams.

"We believe that we can cut down the nets in Detroit," said Jeff Adrien. "We didn't do it in '04, and we didn't do it today, because we believe that we'll cut down the nets where it really counts."

In fact, the Huskies tried do a lot of the same things the 1999 and 2004 teams did in Phoenix during their respective runs through the West Regionals and, ultimately, to national titles. That meant eating at the same Mexican restaurant one night and the same restaurant at Chase Field on another.

"We were very superstitious around here, and we do the same thing," said Adrien. "If it gets us to where we want to be, why not keep doing it?"

Calhoun jokingly took it a step further.

"I'm buying a house. I purchased land yesterday afternoon that says 'tentative,' unless we win today. I will come out here once every five years."

***With about 10 minutes left to play, A.J. Price, the senior point guard, took aside his protégé Kemba Walker, the freshman point guard, and offered him some words.

"I told Kemba … '(You're) growing up today,'" Price recalled. "He grew up. He played like a man among boys."

After scoring a game-high, career-high matching 23 points, to go with five assists, five rebounds and just a pair of turnovers amid Missouri's frenetic fullcourt pressure, Walker didn't exactly disagree.

"(On Saturday), I think I did grow up kind of fast," he admitted.

Indeed, with the Huskies trailing for the first time since the first few minutes of its NCAA tournament opening-round game, Hasheem Thabeet was on the bench with three fouls, their Arizona-hot first-half shooting was suddenly frigid, and their energy seemingly sapped by Missouri's choking fullcourt pressure, Walker stepped up huge -- swathing through the Tigers' press while hitting one big shot after another.

Walker matched a career high with 23 points and joined regional MVP Price on the all-tourney team. He hit a high, driving bank shot that snapped a 50-50 tie, a similar shot that made it a 63-59 game with 5:37 left, then hit Thabeet with a nifty pass for a layup.

But Walker's most improbable shot came with 2:11 to play and UConn clinging to a three-point lead. With the shot clock winding down, Walker banked in a wild, fallaway jumper that gave the Huskies a 70-65 lead.

"Time was running down, the ball was in my hands, and Jeff (Adrien) was there about to set a screen," Walker recalled. "I told him to get out of my way. I kind of just took over. The guy actually played me kind of well. I was turning and turning and I had to get it up. I threw it up, God helped me and it went in."

It was somewhat of a backbreaker for the Tigers.

"Sometimes you've got to make plays. That was one of those plays," said Missouri guard J.T. Tiller. "That put us back on our heels. I thought we played great defense for 35 seconds. It kind of describes what kind of day it was."

Added Tiger coach Mike Anderson: "That's where you say, 'Whoa, what's taking place?'"

***Can anyone name The MC 5's most famous song? How about their lead singer? (See, it's starting already).

***UConn went 26-for-32 (81.3 percent) from the charity stripe. Walker and Craig Austrie were a perfect 10-for-10 over the final minute.

***When asked what it meant to be labeled a "Bronx guard," Walker replied: "Speed, handle, just a tough player."

"And moxie," Price added, after watching his protégé grow up on Saturday afternoon.

***As the Huskies passed the West Regional trophy around on the podium at midcourt, a sharp-dressed young man implored, "Let your boy get a touch."

It was Jerome Dyson, who proudly held the trophy up high. Dyson suffered a season-ending injury on Feb. 11, but after some initial struggles, the Huskies regrouped and are playing as well as ever.

"I'm extremely happy," said Dyson. "We've been waiting for this for a long time. This year, people were doubting us, saying we weren't deserving of a No. 1 seed, and we weren't going to make it without me. And we're here now.

"I definitely feel like I'm a part of it. My teammates always tell me I'm still a part of the team, so it never came to me that I felt like I wasn't."

***Tears flowed in both locker rooms following the game, obviously for different reasons.
At the postgame press conference, Missouri senior shooting guard Matt Lawrence was asked if it was more difficult losing the game or knowing he'd no longer be playing with his teammates.

"As we got back in the locker room," he said, voice trembling and tears flowing, "it was more about those guys that I will never get to play with again."

Teammate Leo Lyons, seated next to him, put his hand on Lawrence's shoulder, consoling him.
Walker, meanwhile, admitted to getting misty-eyed, as well.

"I can't lie to you," he said. "After the game, I kind of did cry."

Unlike in 1999, no tears from Jim Calhoun -- yet.

"I'm as happy as I possibly can be about the basketball situation. I'm so proud. I mean, I feel like busting out, because I think they are really special, what they did once they get dealt a real tough blow. It took some bounces, it took some bruises, (but) here we go to the Final Four.

"I’m just elated."

***My band had a gig scheduled for Friday, April 3 in Newport, R.I. Guess we'll have to reschedule.

PRE-GAME PRIMER: Only the Elite

2009-03-28T16:11:00.005-04:00

Greetings from courtside at the University of Phoenix Stadium. Ready for some basketball?

In the latest example of how we're living in an instant-information age, we're told by a loyal blog reader that Jeff Adrien and Craig Austrie were Twittering this morning before heading over to the arena. Adrien reported on his rather large breakfast, and Austrie "tweeted" when the team left for the arena at about 11:20 a.m. local time.

I don't Twitter. I'm one of those 30-somethings who thinks he's kind of current because he's on Facebook.

Huskies just took the floor for pregame layups. I said it yesterday and I'll say it again: look for Kemba Walker, Stanley Robinson and Gavin Edwards to play prominent roles today. Walker can be a one-man press-breaker as the team's best ball-handler who open-court player. Robinson could be on the finishing end of a lot of alley-oop passes from Walker and A.J. Price today, and Edwards (the Arizona native) is at his best when running the floor.

Of course, UConn doesn't necessarily want to get into a running affair with Mizzou, but it's inevitable that at least part of the game is played that way.

Not a great atmosphere in this building. It's just too vast for basketball, or at least for a regional final. A Final Four, maybe, when most of the seats would probably be filled. Definitely seems like a lot more Mizzou fans in the house. Probably because of the novelty of it all, not to mention the long, expensive flights from Hartford to Phoenix.

Today's officials: John Cahill, Les Jones and Mike Littlewood. Sitting behind the UConn bench: Sal Bando, the former Oakland Athletic and Arizona State graduate.

That's it for now. Enjoy.

Statement from UConn

2009-03-28T12:58:00.001-04:00

A statement from UConn that doesn't state much we don't already know:

The University is working collaboratively with the NCAA to conduct a thorough review of the issues raised in the recent news accounts regarding alleged recruiting violations in the men's basketball program. On Wednesday morning March 25th, soon after the article was posted, the University and NCAA enforcement staff initiated conversations on this matter. A comprehensive examination of the facts and circumstances involved has begun. The review is being conducted by the NCAA and the University in a manner consistent with NCAA enforcement procedures.

According to Richard Evrard, who has been retained by UConn as legal counsel, the school "takes its obligation seriously and will proceed accordingly and work collabroatively with the NCAA."

Evrard couldn't venture a guess on how long the NCAA investigation might take.

My Name Is ...

2009-03-27T22:04:00.004-04:00

Players and reporters needed name tags at today's press conferences (even though the players' names were prominently featured in front of them at the podium). Here's how the very first question to UConn's players went:

Q. Hakeem?

Thabeet: It is Hasheem.

Q. I'm sorry. Or I could just call you beast, right?

This same reporter referred to Thabeet as "The Beast" two different times to Missouri players earlier in the presser. I'm not convinced that he doesn't believe his name actually is "Thabeast".

Of course (as mentioned in an earlier post), Mizzou coach Mike Anderson called him "Hashan Thabeet", and referred to Craig Austrie a couple of times as Craig "Audrey." Seriously bordering on noted name-garbler Jim Calhoun territory here.

Ah, Calhoun. After I asked him how difficult a year this has been for him for health and other well-publicized issues, and if it's caused him to contemplate retirement, Calhoun – in a long-winded answer – referred to me as "Mike."

I wasn't insulted, he knows my name. Plus, there are plenty of other Mikes on this beat. This is the same guy, don't forget, who spent much of last year calling Donnell Beverly, one of his own players, by the name of "Donyell."

At least he didn't call me "Hashan."

***Who sang (rapped) "My Name Is"?

***Calhoun's best line of today's press conference came before things started to get too serious. When asked what he thought if it was ironic that Pitt and Villanova, two Big East teams, would be playing an Elite Eight game tomorrow hosted by former Big East brethren Boston College, Calhoun replied, with a wry smile: "I'm in enough trouble as it is. I just would rather not (say). I have been blamed for the economy recently. I would say -- I like your word. It is very ironic. It is very ironic."

Dont'cha think? A little toooo ironic.

***Stanley Robinson played high school ball in Alabama against Mizzou standout DeMarre Carroll.

"I remember Stanley when I was a senior, he was two years below me," Carroll noted. "We were always meeting in the regional finals to the Civic Center – that's the Big Dance. We always beat him, so hopefully we can keep that trend."

Robinson didn't deny being on the losing end against Carroll.

"That's the truth. I'm looking to get him back, to be honest with you."

***The Huskies like to run, but there are good reasons for them not to get caught up in a Loyola-Marymont type of free-for-all with Mizzou, which employs the self-described "Fastest 40 Minutes of Basketball."

For one, the Huskies essentially play just seven players. There's also the fact that they have a 7-foot-3 center – Thabeet – and a bruising power forward – Jeff Adrien – who are most effective in a halfcourt game.

However, the Huskies will have to deal with Mizzou's fullcourt pressure. With that in mind, expect Kemba Walker, the Huskies best ballhandler and open-court player, to have a big effect on the game. Similarly, players like Robinson and Gavin Edwards, both of whom love to run and dunk, could play a big factor this afternoon. Edwards' best games this season have been up-and-down, fast-break style games. Even little-used sophomore guard Donnell Beverly, a good ballhandler, may get more run than usual.

***Thabeet enters tomorrow's game with 150 blocked shots this season, No. 2 in UConn single-season history. He needs seven blocks to eclipse the mark of 156 blocks, set by Emeka Okafor in 2002-03.

***Back to Stanley. After UConn's other four starters answered the question of how worried they are about their lack of depth tomorrow, Robinson simply said: "I think they pretty much summed it up right there, to be honest with you. No sense in me just (to) keep saying the same thing."

Best answer of the day.

Calhoun Addresses Numerous Subjects

2009-03-27T19:09:00.003-04:00

A very revealing, lengthy press conference by Jim Calhoun today. After several questions about the actual game tomorrow night, Calhoun was asked about many of the controversial subjects currently swirling around both him and his program.

Here's a transcript of the juicy stuff:

Q. Just regarding the recent controversy, your program put out a statement. You addressed it, both times by saying you wouldn't have any more to say. So I saw you quoted twice in national publications today. I was wondering if you would like to comment any further on any mistakes that may have been made, as you alluded to, in one of the pieces.

COACH CALHOUN: I was asked a particular question. I will say that.The first thing I know you all out there have a job to do. I truly -- I know it doesn't seem like I recognize your job, but I actually do realize that you have to work for a living and actually have to inform the public and put out the printed word. There is no question, and let people know what's going on. Our fans are hungry to know what's going on, too.But we cannot -- we are not the ones that are going to judge UConn. Quite frankly, it is going to be people at the NCAA level and the 200 -- 500 -- I said yesterday when they asked me could a mistake have been made, my quote was "in a 508-page manual, a mistake could have been made." Do I know if any has been made? No, I'm not making judgment one way or the other. I said could there have been a mistake made. As we speak, I know Jeff Hathaway, our athletic director, our compliance people, and our outside counsel -- I had a conversation with them this morning and, by the way, right after practice because I need to have them answer a question for me on how the process is going. But I am not going to by any stretch of the imagination make judgment upon us. Because my judgment didn't make any difference.Quite frankly, the University's judgment except -- I truly believe in what we have intended and tried to do as a program. And I said, if we made mistakes, someone else will judge that for us out of that 508-page manual, that is the NCAA manual. It is really that simple.If I didn't say that to everybody else, then I apologize because I know, once again, people are asking you what's the story. But I'm not going to make public comment on something that the governing body of college athletics is going to comment on. So I'm going to keep it at that. Once again, I understand what you need to do, but all I can do is just tell you, repeat that comment that I made yesterday and probably should have made it up here.When I said something yesterday, you were probably tired of listening to me, but everybody just about left. I'm not making an excuse. I'm saying I was going to say something similar, and I'm glad you asked the question. I have a responsibility, first, to my institution, to my kids, to my program. I believe that we always try to do the right things. And all I said very simply, out of our 508-page manual it will be up to the judgment of the NCAA did we in fact make or not make a mistake. They are getting information as we speak. And that will be decided by other people, not us. And so all I can do is that we play Missouri tomorrow, get my team as ready as I possibly can for Missouri and no more. Would I like everybody in the world to have great faith and confidence in me and maybe give this a shot? Yeah. Very honestly and candidly, of course I would. Is that going to happen? Of course it isn't. That's not the nature of the way things are. People by nature are going to question what you do and what you don't do.I have done this for 37 years. I truly believe that everything I have tried to do I have done with a good, clean conscious and if we made a mistake, we'll find out about it. If we didn't, we will also find out about that.

Q. How difficult and exhausting a year has this been for you with your health issues before the season started, during the season, some well-publicized situations obviously --

COACH CALHOUN: I don't know about that. Well publicized, when I yelled at somebody, I was called a bully. And then I didn't say anything, and I was guilty. Which way do you want to have it? Just tell me. I'm not going to do what you ask me to do. If you tell me, it is not going to make any difference. Point being, which way do you want it? Just tell me. Someone said that he didn't yell, therefore he was guilty. Someone said I bullied somebody when someone asked me about salary. Not at UConn but about Comcast. All I'm saying to you is all I'm trying to do is do my job. Understand that you have a job to do, too. I didn't answer your question, did I?

Q. Has it been a particularly tough and exhausting year? Does it have you thinking at all of possible retirement in the near future?

COACH CALHOUN: Couple guys have asked me that and rightfully so. Every single year -- a few years ago, I was going up from Charlotte with Dean Smith. I was not in the hall of fame at the time. I asked him very simply, Coach, why did you get out. Said, I got out at 67 years of age. I will turn 67 in May, by the way. He said, I loved the coaching. The other stuff, and he didn't mean just media, he meant all the other stuff that surrounds our game at times, all the other various aspects and all the -- I think all the -- I always have said that the faculty senate wants nothing but Rhodes Scholars. Many of the fans want a waiver wire. So you pick someone up on the fly. Other people want a perfect performance by you every single night and you to be Gentleman Jim. Whatever the case may be, you are not going to please all those people.My point is, after a while, all the other stuff can get to it. That was Dean's point when got out of coaching. He said he never left coaching because of basketball. So this year or any other given year, I always reflect -- he said, don't ever -- but the great thing he said to me, don't ever make a decision after a great win or after a bad loss. Particularly don't make it after a season. Wait some time to see how things look. I love my team. I love coaching. I have really enjoyed this team. So I think the final answer to your thing is, this team has made this season very joyful for me personally. Has there been some trials and tribulations? Without question. But it seems like for a lot of us in this business, that's part of the job that we do. If you want to be in the highlight program, you are going to be able to inhale the heat. There is heat brought -- if you are going to be a No. 1 seed, then that's -- or in the NCAA tournament, or in the Big East, if you are going to be at that level, then there is going to be scrutiny. People are going to write, say whatever about you. That's just part of the nature of what we do. So I would wait like I do every spring and late in the spring to make any kind of decision about my future. My future right now is I want to coach, and most importantly I want to coach against Missouri tomorrow.

Q. Just to be fair, wanted to give you a chance to respond to a report out of Tampa today that Josh paid for Nate Miles to have surgery down there about a year ago -- year or two ago.

COACH CALHOUN: I have no response. Thank you.

Q. Most of us have been with you through -- most of those 27 years.

COACH CALHOUN: Actually you have.

Q. Sadly or not. I guess the question is, the most anybody has in their profession is their reputation. I wonder how you -- you are in the hall of fame. You have done a number of tremendous things for the profession. How does it feel closer to the end of your career than the beginning to have to be in a position -- I'm not asking you specifics of anything -- but just generally being in a position of having to defend, talk about the NCAA. Is that just part of the business? Or are you offended by it? Hurt by it? Or it doesn't matter?

COACH CALHOUN: No, it does matter. I'm a human being. I wear my emotions on my sleeves. I think everybody who knows me knows that. I think depending upon the source, it can be very hurtful, certainly. No one likes to have their integrity -- I have done this for 37 years. I'm not going to go back to every single thing that has ever happened to me. But as far as any NCAA violation that Jim Calhoun has been accused of -- not a kid in his program, not a plane ticket or anything of that nature. After 37 years, I guess that it is somewhat hurtful, not that someone said it couldn't happen, but not to give time to see if something did happen and to jump right in, especially if you know me. So I guess you don't really know me or don't care. Is that a little hurtful? I have a lot of respect for a lot of you people whether you realize it or not. We don't always agree, but I have a lot of respect for you. Sometimes you just jump. You don't need to jump. You don't know me, jump. But if you have a feeling about what I have tried to do for 37 years, has it always been right? Nope. Have I been wrong? You know, a lot of words and other things I would like to take back. Anybody who is as emotional as I am, without question. You and I, as a matter of fact -- I said something to you -- I still remember back at Boston Garden, When are you going to win the big game? And I jumped on you. I have great, incredible respect for you. It hurt more for you to say that than someone else. That's why I said it's the source many times.

Q. Then you got big ...

COACH CALHOUN: Thanks. I appreciate that. I was going to say two, but I will leave it at that. But I remember the day. I remember standing right there with you because I had great respect for you. I do read The Times. I read you. And I had great respect for what you had to say. What you like to do is have people give you the benefit of the doubt over what you earned. If it was my first year in coaching, tenth year in coaching, okay. I think I have tried to do the best I can. I have always been the person -- every judgment I have ever made in life about every single thing I have done can't always be accurate. And I speak for all the rest of us in the room, too.

Q. Am I being unfair if I suggest that it's your job to know what's in those 508 pages?

COACH CALHOUN: Do you think every NCAA investigator knows what's in every one of those 508 pages? You think so?

Q. In general, yes.

COACH CALHOUN: In general, they know every single interpretation.

Q. That's why they have the job. That's why there is only 20 of them on earth. In general.

COACH CALHOUN: Overall, I would assume it is my job to know -- it is not my job to know what every human being whoever graduated from UConn is doing at every single moment 24 hours a day. Is it my responsibility according to that 508 pages? Yes. That's what the Net says. The Net says you are responsible for anybody who graduated from UConn, anybody who represents the athletic interest of UConn, lifetime, all that kind of stuff. I think I have a pretty good knowledge of the NCAA book. Do I know every single particular -- up until September, you couldn't leave messages -- I mean, you could leave messages, now you can't. It counts as one phone call a week. Things that affect you in every single day basis -- by the way, if you call the NCAA and they really stopped us doing that so we call the conference office, you will get different interpretations over different things because it all has to be put in context. It can't just be a simple answer. So no one in my opinion knows every single answer. It has to be put in context.There are extenuating circumstances. There are a whole different kind of thing. What I'm going to do right now is very simply tell you we are trying to get ready for Missouri. All I'm very simply telling you is that back home my athletic director and the people there and the only people that can control that are working on that. All I'm trying to do is get our team to hopefully get us a trip to Detroit by playing a terrific Missouri team.

Q. The hall of fame status, the national championships, all your victories, maybe that should earn you the benefit of the doubt. But the way the world is is that seldom anybody gets the benefit of the doubt. Do you feel like you have become a distraction to this team? And did anybody talk to you about stepping aside until this is cleared up?

COACH CALHOUN: Did we play yesterday?

Q. Yes, you did.

COACH CALHOUN: And we won, right?

Q. Correct.

COACH CALHOUN: To answer your question simply, no. I think my athletic director came out with a supportive I'm very supportive of Jim, myself, the president, et cetera, and his job is to go out and try to win -- try to beat -- he said yesterday Purdue. Now it will be Missouri. And that's my job. My job right now is -- I have no control over those other things until I go back home. And then, as I said, I won't ever have control of it. It will be controlled by the people that were -- a member of the association, the NCAA.

Q. The heart of my question is do you feel like you have become a distraction to this team?

COACH CALHOUN: No, I don't at all.

'Hashan TheBeast'

2009-03-27T17:11:00.002-04:00

Apparently, people who live and/or work in Missouri aren't adept at pronouncing Hasheem Thabeet's name.

At a press conference today, Mizzou head coach Mike Anderson said that UConn will be one of the Tigers' toughest challenges, led by "Hashan Thabeet."

Later, while asking questions to Mizzou players, a Missouri media member (not sure who) asked what a challenge it would be to go up against "The Beast." Once and it could be forgiven as a Freudian slip. But it happened twice, in two different questions from the same guy.

Anyway, UConn's starting five and Jim Calhoun will be up at the podium in about 15 minutes. Should be interesting.

Stuck Inside of Glendale with the Memphis Blues Again

2009-03-27T00:06:00.013-04:00

Gotta admit, was kind of looking forward to UConn-Memphis on Saturday. The Tigers didn't live up to their bargain, losing to ... well, the Tigers ... of Mizzou. More blues for Memphis, which should have won the whole thing last year and thought it deserved the No. 1 seed in the West this year. (Had to get that blog title up there at some point this week. Who sang that song (actually "Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again")? Couldn't use "All the Way to Memphis" by Mott the Hoople.

Meanwhile, UConn lived up to its end, putting aside NateGate and heading to the Elite Eight. It will face Missouri (for the first time ever) at 4:40 p.m. EST on Saturday. Pitt-Villanova gets the prime time slot.

The Huskies put aside any potential distractions regarding an NCAA investigation into alleged recruiting violations by posting a rather perfunctory, 72-60 win over Purdue at University of Phoenix Stadium.

This will be UConn's ninth trip to the regional semifinals and eighth time under coach Jim Calhoun.

"I get goosebumps," Calhoun admitted. "There (are) only one or two better feelings, and (those) usually involve a Monday night. So it was pretty special stuff for us. I couldn't be happier with our kids. I thought we played well."

Craig Austrie had what has to be the biggest performance of his career: 17 points, 3-for-3 on 3-pointers at the cavernous football stadium.

"The depth perception for some guys was a little bit off, but if felt fine for me," said Austrie. "Once I hit the first one, hit the second one, I knew the third one was going in."

Austrie was 3-for-23 from the floor in UConn's three postseason games. He had hit just two of his prior 22 3-pointers.

"I've got to give credit to the coaches," said Austrie. "They've stuck with me for a long time. Coach Calhoun called me in his office before the tournament and told me he's behind me and he knows I can shoot the ball. I knew coming into this game they were going to try to stop A.J. (Price), and I wanted to be there to relieve them and open the game up a little bit."

Added Price: "He got his confidence back tonight. I love to see Craig Austrie smiling. Tonight, he brought that smile out."

***Hasheem Thabeet, meanwhile, had 15 points, 15 boards and four blocks.

He had just five points on two shots in the first half, but his teammates urged him to take over and assert himself over the final 20 minutes – and he did. Thabeet scored UConn's first eight points of the latter half on a layup, an inside hoop, a hook shot and two free throws. By the time Adrien finished off an 8-0 run with a bank shot, UConn had a 42-31 lead with 13:37 to play.

Said Thabeet: "My guys in the locker room just told me, 'The first half you didn't have a good performance, you go back out in the second half and play your game.' They know I'm capable of doing a lot of stuff. Today, in the second half, they told me to go back out there and do what you do all season long."

"I thought it was a really good performance by Purdue who, quite frankly, ran into one fo the best players in America in Hasheem Thabeet," said Calhoun. "Beyond that, the game might have been different, if we had just a 'regular center.'"

***The Huskies haven't trailed in the NCAA tournament since the first 4:43 of their opening-round game with Chattanooga last week. The Mocs held an 8-6 lead at that point. Stanley Robinson followed with a finger roll, and the Huskies haven't trailed since. They got off to a 10-0 start against Texas A&M and 8-0 against Purdue.

***While UConn prepared for and played Thursday's game, controversy continued to swirl around the program. The NCAA has begun its investigation into alleged recruiting violations, according to multiple sources. The Day of New London has reported that the NCAA investigation will target UConn's entire athletic department, not just the men's basketball team. A university spokesman said that report wasn't entirely accurate.

Meanwhile, according to a Yahoo Sports report, current UConn assistant coach Andre LaFleur had two lengthy phone conversations with former UConn student-manager turned agent Josh Nochimson while Nochimson shadowed current Husky freshman Ater Majok at the Kentucky Derby All-Star Festival in April, 2008.

The report also stated that LaFleur spent several hours on Dec. 14, 2007 making calls and taking messages from Nochimson and Jason Niblett, who was Majok's coach at the time Heat Academy in Virginia.

Niblett told the Register on Thursday that he has never spoken with Nochimson.

"I know the name," he said. "As far as anything else, I can't elaborate."

Also, Chris Chaney, who coached Miles at the Patterson School in Lenoir, N.C. last year, said he spoke with Nochimson by phone several times regarding Miles while Miles was enrolled in the fall of 2007.

"Basically, (it was about) how Nate's doing, all that stuff," said Chaney. "It wasn't really about basketball, he just wanted to know how he was doing academically and off the court. I think they knew he could play."

Chaney said he didn't believe Nochimson had anything to do with paying for Miles' tuition – which was minimal – at Patterson. Naturally, Chaney also had contact with UConn's coaching staff while Miles played (briefly) at Patterson.

"But I didn't really know what the relationship was with Josh and UConn," Chaney said.

But the Huskies played as if unburdened by the well-publicized situation.

"We really forgot about that stuff," said Jeff Adrien "We just go out and play basketball. That stuff has nothing to do with us, we're just basketball players. We were real focused on Purdue, and there was nothing that was going to get us distracted."

Added Price: "We really don't have any time to focus on that, and I really mean that. We have a much bigger goal at-hand right now, and we can't let anything take us away from that. All the distractions really aren't distractions to us, because we know what we're coming out here for. We leave all that for the people who have to deal with that. Our job is to come out here and play as hard as we can."

In fact, Calhoun had an interesting – if vague – quote at the end of his press conference.

"At 7 a.m. (Thursday), I talked to Jeff Hathaway for a half hour and had what I thought was a very fruitful conversation up in Boston. That's all I'm going to say. I thought we had a very fruitful conversation. And he said 'Go get Purdue.' I said 'Fine.'"

***Gavin Edwards, a Gilbert, Ariz native, had 19 family and friends in attendance – his mother and father and 17 friends. Edwards scored just two points and picked up three fouls in nine minutes.

***Little-used sophomore guard Donnell Beverly got into the game much earlier than normal, 5 minutes and 1 second into play. But he missed badly on a 3-pointer and was out a little over a minute later, never to return to the game.

***Jerome Dyson stayed back in Storrs for classes on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before flying out to join his teammates Wednesday night.

PRE-GAME PRIMER: Scandal-Free Zone

2009-03-26T18:52:00.005-04:00

Greetings from courtside at the University of Phoenix Stadium (my big head will be in the bottom left-hand corner of your screen).

Feels a little strange that it's nearly gametime. For one, it's still light out, even though it's nearly 7 p.m. back home. The crowd also seems a little sparse, though that's what happens when you play a regional semifinal basketball game in an 80,000-or-so-seat football stadium. It is busy around here: the Phoenix Coyotes and Edmonton Oilers have a game tonight right next door, and Billy Joel and Elton John are performing in concert downtown.

Also feels odd because so little seems to have been said about tonight's actual game, in the wake of the recent allegations of UConn recruiting violations. For the next two hours, at least, we promise you a Nochimson-free zone. Unless something breaks in the meantime, of course.

Jerome Dyson is here, dressed to the nines as usual. He flew in yesterday after staying back in Storrs the prior few days to take classes.

Mike Kitts is one of tonight's referees -- another reason to make Jim Calhoun unhappy. Or should I say, Timothy Kitts. That is his actual name, and how it's listed on the pregame lineup sheet. But it's the same Mike Kitts whom Calhoun blasted following that DeJuan Blair-flipping-Hasheem-Thabeet-over-his-shoulder Pitt-UConn game on Feb. 16.

Do the UConn players look loose during pregame warm-ups? Impossible to tell. We'll know if the scandal is a distraction by the way they play tonight. Or maybe we won't. It's entirely possible they'll play a lousy game just because they played lousy. Or vice versa.

We'll soon find out. Enjoy the show.

Patterson Debunks Yahoo Report

2009-03-26T10:31:00.003-04:00

Spoke with Sean Patterson, Nate Miles' former guardian, late last night -- too late to get into today's edition of the Register. Not surprisingly, he debunks a great deal of the Yahoo Sports story and pointed out that the writers never once contacted him during their entire six-month investigation.

Said Patterson: "UConn's recruitement of Nate had no other involvement of anybody else except for Nate and myself. We went through seven months of answering questions of this particular nature and other things, and he was ruled to have an amateur status."

Calhoun Addresses Situation

2009-03-25T17:28:00.002-04:00

Looking a bit frazzled, only comfortable when the topic turned to basketball and tomorrow night's game with Purdue, Jim Calhoun addressed today's Yahoo Sports report that accuses UConn of potentially serious recruiting violations at a press conference a short time ago.

"I heard something last night at about 12 a.m. The university is taking any allegations towards its program ... I was in touch with Jeff Hathaway at 5:30 a.m. Phoenix time, and right before we left for practice. The university is going to look into any matter – as we would, when we hear of something (like this) – regardless of what we think, it still falls under the guidelines of making sure that we're being compliant.

"Secondly, there are no current student-athletes involved with this story. Third, the university worked very closely with our compliance people and with an outside legal agency and obviously the NCAA Eligibility Center, and it was determined that the student-athlete was fully eligible for his freshman year and ready to go …"

"It's a newspaper story … it wasn't a newspaper, it was a blog story that appeared on something I probably can't get a hold of, which was Yahoo! The student-athlete is not involved with the program, he was cleared by compliance people, an outside legal source, and the NCAA. Something was written, and we take very seriously our responsibility as NCAA members. As we speak … Jeff (Hathaway) is looking into what was put on that blog."

(on how to keep this from being a distraction)

"I can't do anything about it, all I can control is things I can control. I do try to control the officials, but that's part of the game (deftly changes subject to Moore, Robbie Hummel, JaJuan Johnson, etc.) … In Philadelphia, there was a distraction of me not being there. We talked this morning at breakfast at what opportunity we have. We don't ever want to look back upon this and say we didn't give it our best. Purdue is plenty of basketball team enough to handle."

(on how he addressed the situation to the team)

"Basically, I said to them, 'Fellas, you probably are going to see something on TV, a couple of different things. It's something that occurred over a year or two ago, whatever it may be. Just to let you know, the university will look into that. As far as I'm concerned, we're here to beat Purdue. If you vary from that, you'll look back and say 'I was worried about something that didn't affect me, one way or another,' and you'll let an opportunity slip by. You only have so many opportunities … And we shut it off. The kids are talking about going to a Phoenix Suns game tonight, I think they're really looking at other things: where they're going for dinner, all those things."

(on how he deals with distraction)

"The one reason I've been able to coach for 37 years – a lot of things have happened. When you start coaching in college in 1972, and you start thinking about all the various things culturally that were going on in the city of Boston at that time – sit-ins, things that I didn't have control over at that time – we had to handle. Hopefully those years of experience will come to the front here, that we can keep our kids focused on what we're going to do and let them understand that the university, led by Jeff Hathaway, will handle anything else that needs to be handled."

(on his relationship with Josh Nochimson)

"He was with our program for six years, got his master's degree. While he was with our program, he was a good kid, worked hard, etc. That was my relationship during that particular point in time. I have a very good relationship with Rip – I'll be going to Rip's wedding, as a matter of fact, in June."

(on his reaction to getting the news of the situation)

"Do you like getting that message? No. Do you like having to talk to your athletic director at 5:30 a.m.? I want to talk to him about other things. I want to talk about George (Blaney) about should we blitz the pick and roll. Hopefully, I've been through a couple of things in my life. I've learned to stand up to those. I have no control over some of the things that have happened to me, from my father's death – this is nothing like that, obviously – to all various things that have happened to me in my lifetime. The only thing I've ever known is to stand up, keeping on going forward and be counted. That's what I know how to do."

Speaking of Nate Miles ...

2009-03-25T14:34:00.002-04:00

Nate Miles had a court date at Rockville Superior Court yesterday, where his case for violating a restraining order last fall was continued until mid-April. He was not required to attend the hearing, and didn't.

Miles is still enrolled at the College of Southern Idaho, a junior college program.

"He's doing great," said his guardian, Sean Patterson. "He's happy with what's going on. He took 12 credits in the fall, got eligible, played eight or nine games ..."

Patterson wouldn't comment about this morning's Yahoo! Sports report because, he says, he hadn't read it yet.

And what of Miles' basketball future? Still unknown, but we know this: he still loves the University of Connecticut.

Statement from UConn

2009-03-25T12:51:00.003-04:00

Here's a statement from UConn regarding today's news emanating from a Yahoo! Sports report:

The University of Connecticut received a Freedom of Information Act Request from Yahoo Sports during the fall. That request was acted upon in a series of communications with Yahoo culminating in complete disclosure of all requests.

When the University began its recruitment of the student-athlete named in the article, it utilized the University's outside counsel on NCAA related matters who worked collaboratively with the NCAA staff to examine all aspects of his amateur status, as is expected under NCAA rules. The NCAA's Eligibility Center reviewed all information that it had concerning the student-athlete's eligibility status and determined that he was eligible for his freshman year. The student-athlete departed from the University before ever participating in athletics competition.

The story printed today includes no current student-athletes and no student-athlete who has ever competed for the institution.

The University's men's basketball team and its coaches are working today to prepare for its upcoming game tomorrow night. University outside counsel and administrators are continuing to review the article to determine if additional action is required.

The University takes very seriously its responsibilities of NCAA membership and will do all that is expected to follow up on any information related to possible NCAA rules violations.

I was told recently by someone I trust to expect some interesting news regarding the UConn men's basketball program in the upcoming days. Little did I know it was this (potentially) serious.

Today's Yahoo! Sports report on possible violations by UConn in its recruitment of Nate Miles raises numerous questions. Assuming any of the alleged infractions are valid, does this mean the beginning of the end of Jim Calhoun's reign at UConn? Are the violations serious enough for him to be fired, a la Kelvim Sampson at Indiana? Would UConn allow Calhoun simply to retire, rather than go through the indignation of being fired? If the allegations aren't deemed serious or, in fact, false, would Calhoun say "enough is enough" and retire anyway? It has certainly been an emotionally draining and difficult year for the 66-year-old coach, from latest battle with cancer last spring to his summerlong treatments to the Miles situation over the fall to the Ken Krayeske fiasco to last week's apparently minor health issue to this news now. Am I forgetting anything?

It's impossible to say what long-range effects this situation may have on the UConn program. The immediate effect could be that it serves as a major distraction. No question, Calhoun will be peppered with questions about this in today's press conference (4:45 p.m. EST). His best tactic would be to answer these questions as thoroughly as possible, get everything out in the open, and when the questions are exhausted, concentrate completely on beating Purdue. Of course, news will continue to creep up on this subject, so Calhoun will likely face questions about it for as long as UConn's tourney run lasts.

UConn players will be asked about this, too, despite the fact that, as the above press release states, no current players are involved in the allegations. Not sure how much contact current Husky players have had with Miles since his expulsion. I know Kemba Walker was his roommate, but after that's about it.

Perhaps the Huskies rally around this and it makes them even stronger. Perhaps it becomes too much of a burden on them and curtails what's been starting to look like a possible NCAA title run. We'll find out tomorrow night.

This much we know: Calhoun and Adrian Wojnarowski apparently never got along very well when Wojnarowski was on the UConn beat while with the Republican-American, we're told. That's not likely to change anytime soon.

Price Fixer

2009-03-24T20:07:00.004-04:00

Greetings from Arizona, home of John McCain, Barry Goldwater, David Spade, Phil Mickelson (sorta), Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman!), Sandra Day O'Connor, Gavin Edwards, the Snakes, Cardinals, Suns and Coyotes and lots of old people, golf courses and Super Bowls (including one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history a little over a year ago).

University of Phoenix Stadium was the site of the New York Giants' upset of the Patriots in 2008, and it's the host of this year's West Regionals, where UConn is the No. 1 seed and looks to get by Purdue in a semifinal game on Thursday.

Much more on Purdue, the Huskies, etc. over the next couple of days. Today, we quickly turn our attention to A.J. Price -- who may be making himself a lot of money over the course of this NCAA tourney.

Players like Glen Rice, Glenn Robinson, David Robinson, even Derrick Rose and Stephen Curry last season made names for themselves with big NCAA tourney runs. UConn’s Ben Gordon in 2004, too.

“Ben had had a good year up to that point, not a special year,” recalled UConn assistant coach Andre LaFleur. “Going into the Big East tournament, there was no real talk about him being a lottery pick. Then, Marcus (Williams) and Emeka (Okafor) got hurt, and Ben caught fire. He carried that through into the six games of the NCAA tournament, and after that stretch he became the No. 3 pick in the draft.

“Postseason play gives you the opportunity to make a lot of movement. It’s like moving day in a golf tournament.”

Last year, an NBA Eastern Conference assistant general manager told UConn assistant Patrick Sellers that he would take Price with one of the top 18 picks in the 2008 draft. Then, Price tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee nine minutes into the Huskies’ first-round NCAA tourney game. Then came a long, grueling rehab, a rather slow start to this season and ... well, you know the rest of the story so far (and if you don't, read tomorrow's Register).

Now, Price is playing as well as he ever has – in every facet of the game. Not only is he shooting and distributing the ball extremely well, he’s directing traffic on the floor as well as any UConn point guard in recent memory.

“Marcus (Williams) ran the team, but I don’t think guys respected Marcus as much as they respect A.J.,” said Sellers. “Marcus was kind of a class clown, always clowning around. If A.J. tells them to jump over a wall, they jump.”

Price is very much focused on the task at hand – getting to the Final Four and winning a national title. His mother and biggest fan, Inga, says A.J. hasn’t even mentioned the NBA to her. And while agents are “coming out of the woodwork now,” according to Inga, she insists neither A.J. nor the family has thought much about choosing one.

“There’s plenty of time to deal with that after April 6,” Inga Price said. “Everything will take care of itself. That’s what we’ve been telling him all along.”

A mock draft on the draftexpress.com website has Price going in the second round, as the 38th pick overall. Last year’s 38th overall pick, Kyle Weaver, is earning $806,452 this season. But Sellers – who is well-connected with NBA scouts – says he has heard from virtually every team regarding Price.

A Western Conference source told Sellers shortly before the Marquette game that he thought Price would go near the top of the second round. Now, Sellers firmly believes Price has played his way into the first round.

“He’s getting stronger and stronger every day,” Sellers said. “I think he’ll be in the Top 20 somewhere.”

The difference in being chosen No. 38 and, say, No. 20, is about $500,000. This year’s 20th pick will earn $1,318,970, per the NBA’s rookie salary scale. A strong NCAA tournament showing could, indeed, put a good chunk of change in Price’s pocket.

Of course, a lot has to do with what other point guards are available. Spain’s Ricky Rubio, considered a sure-fire first-round pick, comes with an expensive buyout that could complicate things and keep him out of the draft. And it remains to be seen whether Memphis freshman Tyreke Evans, Syracuse sophomore Jonny Flynn and others decide to declare.

But one thing is certain: A.J. Price’s draft stock has risen considerably over the course of this season – and it could rise even more over the next couple of weeks.

Watch Out Where The Huskies Go

2009-03-23T16:01:00.006-04:00

Big news: Jonathan the Husky has been ranked No. 5 among NCAA tournament mascots by Petside.com.

Give that dog a bone.

Elsewhere:

***Tickets are available for purchase by the general public for the 2009 NCAA men's basketball West Regional in Glendale, Ariz. through the UConn ticket office beginning tomorrow morning (Tuesday, March 25).

Tickets packages are priced at $164 each and include tickets for the Regional Semifinal doubleheader on Thursday featuring UConn vs. Purdue followed by Missouri vs. Memphis, as well as the regional championship game on Saturday featuring the Thursday winners.

Tickets may be purchased by calling the UConn ticket office at 1-877-AT-UCONN between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. tomorrow (Tuesday).

***UConn practiced this afternoon and will practice again tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. before heading out to 'Zona.

***UConn assistant coach Andre LaFleur's name is among the candidates for the vacant Boston University job, though no interview has been set yet.

***That's all we've got for now, but more news to come. I'm heading down to Glendale tomorrow morning for a long-awaited warm-weather road trip! (I didn't go to the Paradise Jam).

***Oh, can anyone name the artist and song from which the title of this post emanates?

Thabeet a Naismith Finalist

2009-03-22T19:42:00.000-04:00

Hasheem Thabeet has been named one of the four finalists for the 2009 Naismith Men’s College Player of the Year award. Pittsburgh’s DeJuan Blair, Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin (who'll probably win) and North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough round out the “final four.”

The winner will be named at the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Guardians of the Game awards program on Sunday, April 5 in Detroit.

The finalists were voted on by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s Board of Selectors, comprised of leading basketball journalists, coaches and administrators from around the country. The board based its criteria on player performances this season. The vote was tabulated and certified by the accounting firm of Habif, Arogeti & Wynne, LLP. HA&W is the largest independent accounting firm in Georgia and one of the top 50 firms in the United States.

By the Time They Get to Phoenix

2009-03-21T21:06:00.007-04:00

And so, it's off to Phoenix for UConn (actually Glendale, Ariz., about 10 miles from Phoenix). Either way, it's a place UConn has greatly enjoyed over the past decade: the Huskies' national championship runs in 1999 and 2004 each ran through Phoenix.

"I'm very excited," said Jeff Adrien. "It's a place where we've had great success in the past."

The Huskies will face Purdue, which topped Washington on Saturday 76-74, in a Sweet 16 battle on Thursday.

This will be UConn's 12th trip to the Sweet 16 since 1990 and 15th time in the program's history. The Huskies are now 12-3 in second-round NCAA tourney games under Jim Calhoun.

***R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Feeling a certain amount of disrespect nationally as the weakest No. 1 seed in the field, the Huskies have emphatically stated their case. Their combined margin of victory of 82 points over Chattanooga and Texas A&M is the program's largest ever in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament, and the most since Duke outscored its two foes by 82 in 1999.

"This should be a message sent, showing we are a good team," noted A.J. Price. "We've had a great year thus far. For anyone to question (if) we were a No. 1 seed, I think we answered those questions by playing hard and showing people that we can beat good teams."

Even President Obama recently "dissed" the Huskies: UConn was the only top seed not to advance to the Final Four in Obama's bracket. No. 2 seed Memphis was picked to come out of the West Region.

"I'm a big Obama fan," said Craig Austrie, "but that definitely pushed us."

But, as Calhoun pointed out, UConn's work is far from through.

"Are we special yet? No," said the 23rd-year coach. "(We're) a couple more wins from that. But we played two very impressive games."

***I'm Special: "Special," however, was a word Calhoun reserved for Price's performance.

Price canned four 3-pointers and doled out eight assists in an effort that further put him in "that special category of player that we've had who, in big-time games make big-time plays," according to Calhoun. "He was absolutely special for us."

In what's becoming somewhat of a hallmark for the senior guard, Price reeled off a personal 8-0 run late in the first half that dazzled the crowd. In the span of 37 seconds, Price nailed a pull-up 3-pointer, scored on a 2-on-1 break with Kemba Walker and canned another pull-up trey that gave the Huskies a 46-22 lead with 3 minutes, 10 seconds left in the half.

***Sweet From 16 Feet: Apparently, Adrien can hit from the foul line extended in the flow of the game, but not so much when play has stopped. He went 1-for-4 from the charity stripe this afternoon and is now 6-for-17 from the line for the tourney. Yet Adrien buried 11 of 16 shots from the field, the vast majority on 15-footers.

Seems his mid-range shooting ability didn't make A&M's scouting report.

"I don't know what scouting report they were watching," Hasheem Thabeet said with a smile.

Added Adrien: "They should have definitely adjusted after I hit the first two."

***Temper, Temper: For the second straight game, an opposing coach got hit with a technical foul. A&M's Mark Turgeon got T'd up after Hasheem Thabeet was fouled with 9:58 left in the half. As usual, UConn got plenty of whistles to go its way. In a twist, the Huskies took advantage at the charity stripe, hitting 13 of 14 in the opening half and 21 of 27 for the game.

***Hasheem Who?: The Huskies held a commanding, 18-point lead at halftime. Yet just 14 seconds into the latter half, Thabeet picked up his third foul. After Josh Carter banked in an offensive rebound with 17 minutes, 47 seconds left, Texas A&M was within 14 (53-39) and on the brink of making things interesting.

And less than a minute later, Adrien went to the bench with his third foul. Yet the Huskies stemmed the tide, thanks to the strong play of Gavin Edwards off the bench, along with another top-notch effort from Stanley Robinson.

By the time Thabeet returned to the game with 11:18 to play, the Huskies' lead was 22.

"We actually gained a little bit during that period of time," noted Calhoun.

Edwards finished with 10 points and six rebounds in 23 minutes. Robinson, on the heels of 52 points in his previous two games, had 12 points and five boards and held A&M top scorer Josh Carter to 3-for-13 shooting.

***A Sort of Homecoming: Edwards' strong play helped punch him a ticket home. The 6-foot-9 junior forward was born in Phoenix and grew up a little over an hour away in Gilbert, Ariz.

"It feels good," Edwards said. "I haven't been home in a while."

Indeed, Edwards said the last time he was home was for "34 hours, two days before Christmas." Before that, he was home for a couple of months over the summer, after completing some summer school courses on campus.

***Who sang "A Sort of Homecoming"?

***Return Engagement: This will be the second trip to the Sweet 16 for seniors Adrien and Austrie. The two were freshmen on the 2006 team that wound up losing to George Mason in the Elite Eight.

"It feels great," said Austrie. "Back then, I was a follower, I was wide-eyed … now I feel like I'm one of the leaders on this team, and I can talk to younger guys. It feels great to go back."

Adrien echoed those sentiments: "It's different, but they're both great. I definitely play a lot more minutes than my freshman year, so I'm more part of it – a bigger piece."

***One Moment in Time: The most meaningless basket of the game was actually extremely meaningful for one UConn player.

With 31 seconds left to play, Jim Veronick, a senior walk-on from Durham, grabbed an offensive rebound and hit a turnaround jumper for the first two points of his career. Veronick, a Coginchaug High graduate, has seen his only playing time of the season in UConn's first two NCAA tournament games.

***Who sang "By the Time I Get to Phoenix"?

PRE-GAME PRIMER: UConn-Texas A&M

2009-03-21T15:18:00.004-04:00

Watching the waning seconds of Villanova's brutal dismantling of UCLA (and ex-Pitt coach Ben Howland) in front of about 12,000 Wildcat fans. 'Nova's a good team and will be a tough out for Duke or Texas next week.

If you're wondering why Villanova got to play essentially a home game for its first two NCAA tourney games at the Wachovia Center, it's because the Wildcats only played three games here this season. Per NCAA rules, a team may not play any tourney games at a site at which it plays more than three games during the regular season.

As for UConn, the Huskies watched the first half from the end zone seats behind one of the baskets, then filed into their locker room, to the catcalls of several Villanova fans.

There should be a good number of UConn fans in the building today, but likely at least an equal number anti-Husky fans (Villanova fans, a smattering of A&M fans, and neutral fans simply looking for an upset -- however minor).

Today's game officials: Bob Donato (did Jim Calhoun just get sick again?), Joe Lindsay and Patrick Evans.

A&M Radio (and Video)

2009-03-20T18:16:00.008-04:00

Here's what we've got today from the Wachovia Center, where UConn, Texas A&M, Villanova and UCLA met with the media and held closed practices. (UConn actually practiced earlier in the day for two hours at the historic Palestra, home of Penn and its coach, Jim Calhoun disciple Glen Miller):

***As covered in a prior post (scroll down), Calhoun is back with the team and feeling great after being given a clean bill of health. He said he was champing at the bit to get out of the hospital last night.

"I started bargaining, using tickets, anything I possibly could, to get out of there as quick as I possibly could: T-shirts being sent to their children, their next of kin, anything I could think of to get out of there as early as I can."

Didn't work.

***Here's some video of Calhoun talking about yesterday's trip to the hospital, and his current health situation.

***Texas A&M is a long, athletic team that can shoot the ball pretty well and rebound, too. The Aggies shot 44.6 percent from the floor this season and 36.6 from beyond the arc. They outrebounded their Big 12 foes by nearly five per game.

A&M is 16-1 when it scores at least 72 points, including 8-0 in Big 12 play. It's 18-2 when shooting at least 43 percent from the floor. In their last seven games, the Aggies have shot 49.6 percent from the floor and 43 percent from Trey Land, going 6-1 in that stretch. They hit their first 10 shots in a 79-66 first-round win over BYU on Thursday and never looked back.

***The Aggies are led by 6-7 senior forward Josh Carter, who averaged 14.1 ppg this season and was an all-Big 12 Third Team pick. Derrick Roland, a 6-4 guard who earned Big 12 All-Defensive Team honors, will guard A.J. Price tomorrow.

Carter will guard red-hot Stanley Robinson.

"I watched him grab a rebound yesterday and I was like, 'Whoa,'" Carter said. "He's a freak athlete … (but) I'm up to the challenge. He's a great player, a great jumper. He's probably the first one I'll face who's that athletic. But I look forward to it. I'll just do what I usually do, try to keep him off the boards and make it hard for him."

***Only Fifteen. Hasheem Thabeet needs 15 points to become the 43rd UConn player to reach 1,000 for his career. He'd be the fourth current member of the Huskies to do so, joining Price, Jeff Adrien and Jerome Dyson. This would be the first time UConn has had four 1,000-point scorers on the same team.

***The 99 Pub. Adrien and Craig Austrie will go for their 100th career win against A&M. They're 99-31 in their four years at UConn.

***20-20-20 Vision. In the romp over Chattanooga, UConn had three players (Robinson, Price and Thabeet) go for 20 points for the first time in a game since a December, 2003 win over Ball State. Emeka Okafor (25), Ben Gordon (25) and Denham Brown (20) did the honors that night.

***On the Double. Adrien and Thabeet each notched double-doubles against the Mocs, just the fifth time in Husky history that teammates have done so in an NCAA tourney game. The last time: Okafor and Johnnie Selvie in a 2002 opening-round win over Hampton.

***Bringin' on the Heartbreak? A&M is one of 16 schools to appear in the last four NCAA tournaments. Its last three trips ended in heartbreak, losing in the final three seconds each time. LSU's Darrel Mitchell hit a long 3-pointer with three seconds left in a loss to the Tigers 2006, Memphis's Antonio Anderson made two free throws with three seconds left for a 65-64 win in 2007, and UCLA came from behind for a controversial, 51-49 win last year.

***Who sang "Bringin' On the Heartbreak"?

***"40 minutes to Phoenix." That's Calhoun's mantra, as a UConn win would send the Huskies to Glendale, Ariz. (about 12 miles from Phoenix) for the West Regionals.

***So here's a story that animal lovers (like myself) will hate at first, but ultimately enjoy.

The other night, I and a couple of other writers pulled into the hotel parking lot after dinner in South Philly. As we get out of the car, we hear several loud "Meows" from an obviously distressed cat nearby.

The Post's Neil Ostrout notices a pillow case in between cars, from which the imperiled cat's crying is emanating. A closer look reveals that the top of the case is tied in a knot. Some idiot actually put a cat in a pillow case, tied it up and left it in the parking lot. Sick world.

Anyway, Neil unties the case and the cat walks out – not frantic, hinting that it was pretty well-domesticated. The next couple of days, the cat is seen everywhere – the parking lot, inside the hotel lobby. And here's the happy ending: a hotel manager apparently has decided to adopt the black-and-white cat and take it home.

Calhoun: 'I Didn't Realize I Was That Healthy'

2009-03-20T15:56:00.000-04:00

He's baaaack …

Jim Calhoun was back at the Wachovia Center today for a 30-minute press conference (typically, only 20 minutes are reserved for players and coaches).

He seemed in perfectly good spirits, complete with some typical self-deprecating humor and wisecracks. Here's some of what Calhoun had to say about his bout with dehydration that caused him to missed Thursday's first-round win over Chattanooga:

I fully expected to coach the game yesterday early in the morning, 10, 11 a.m. I mentioned to Jeff Anderson, our doctor, that I wasn't feeling particularly well (and) had felt weak for a couple days, but no problem. He said, 'Let's go down and have you checked out'. So we went down. I was checked out. Next thing I know, this hour or so turned into being admitted so they could do a full and thorough examination. They looked at virtually everything, it seems, and came out with the fact that I probably was totally dehydrated. They could find that out. I left early this morning. I bribed my way out of there as quick as I could. Quite frankly, I feel good now. I probably feel good because, once again, I got a full physical examination. I will say one thing. The full exam, which got high ratings, did not include a psychiatrist.

(on George Blaney)
I can only make this about a friend. When I called him about 7 a.m. He said, 'Where are you?' I said, 'Quite frankly, I'm getting ready to get out of the hospital. His response was, (unenthusiastically) 'Oh.'I think it was that picture in USA Today. That was George's response when I told him I was on my way back to the hotel. In all honesty, the farthest thing from my mind, this is really true, sometimes you know if -- everybody hears of some illnesses, any different type of thing, and I'm thinking of the game even in the ride over just to be checked out quick to see everything. Next thing I know, they put a bracelet, I was admitted. I was the most shocked guy in the world. Right now, I practiced with the team at the Palestra. I had to only walk a couple paces to join the team over there, got to practice with the kids. We will go out to eat tonight and have our chart talk. I'll get a chance to talk to almost all the kids.

(on this being somewhat of a yearly occurrence)
I missed 10 games or something (actually 21). I had looked at it and I said the other day, I've coached 1,142 games. I had to look at the sheet, so I knew. It isn't like it happens every single day. I haven't had a great run over the last year certainly of not having something happen, at least it seems, from cancer to shingles to this, although this was not an illness really, it was something where I didn't feel well. Normally, if I probably hadn't gone, got such expert care at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, they wanted to be exceptionally thorough, and they were very thorough, as in the whole time that I was there. But bottom line is that, you get to the fighting part, then you realize that bracelet, unless you can whip up on a couple security guards, you're not going anyplace, and I wasn't going anyplace.

Once again, if you get me a day or two before an NCAA tournament game, I go back to the kids. On occasion they tell me, Coach, I'm a little bit high strung, nervous before a game. I said, There's a guy named Bill Russell who threw up before every game. He turned out okay, the greatest winner ever. Biased, but the greatest winner ever. I have the stats on that one to prove it. And there is no game that I've ever approached that I don't feel that in my stomach, okay? And I felt a little bit the night before, but nothing really drastic. But in the morning I just felt lousy. So I thought Jeff could give me something. Jeff said we can either go right around the corner here, up to Penn, we'll do this and that. Once again, one thing led to the other and I had no choice in the rest of the matter.

(on whether there could be any lingering health issues for him)
I'll probably take it the other way. Actually the opposite. I got more than a clean bill of health. Once again, I'll preface by saying no psychiatric tests were taken. So we have to keep that in mind. Regardless, quite frankly, I didn't realize I was that healthy. I didn't feel that way, you know. That's the honest truth. There's no guarantees in life and all that type of thing. But I left there feeling awfully good because they did an extensive look at me to make sure everything was okay.

(on the coincidence of missing all or parts of games in both the 1999 and 2004 tournaments)
I hope it is. I do remember those years vaguely, some good things happened to us at the end, if I had my druthers. You know, I really can't -- it doesn't seem that my body picks its spots. I think it's different because I didn't feel that I couldn't get to the game or I had to sit or anything else. As I said, when I told our doctor, I mean, I was not by any stretch of the imagination, if I hadn't told him, I wouldn't have gone over at 11:30 a.m. to watch the first game and keep on going. So it wasn't quite that critical. I still remember San Antonio, he came over, had a suit on, I was soaking wet. Kind of knew then that I wasn't going to the game. Maybe it's an omen or something. Hopefully it is. I wouldn't necessarily like these types of omens. I'd rather have the kids play. If they play like they did yesterday, everything else will work its way out.

Clean Bill of Health for Calhoun

2009-03-20T10:25:00.005-04:00

Jim Calhoun was released this morning from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania with a clean bill of health. His grandchildren came to town last night, and he's reportedly in very good spirits. Calhoun was with the team at practice earlier today at The Palestra.

Calhoun will conduct his scheduled press conference today at 2:40 p.m.

Huskies Play 3:30 p.m. Saturday

2009-03-20T08:20:00.002-04:00

UConn will play the second game of Saturday's doubleheader in Philly, starting around 3:30 p.m.

Villanova-UCLA will kick off the day's coverage on CBS at 1:05 p.m., and UConn-Texas A&M will follow after the conclusion of that game. Dick Enberg and Jay Bilas do the honors.

Of Calhoun, Craig and Chatty Chattanooga

2009-03-19T20:45:00.015-04:00

Craig Austrie found out that Jim Calhoun wouldn't be coaching today's game while watching the previous game (Texas A&M-BYU) on CBS in the locker room.

Hasheem Thabeet got the news via a text message from a friend.

A.J. Price was told by associate head coach George Blaney.

Calhoun's ailment doesn't appear to be too serious, and the 23rd-year UConn head coach hopes to be checked out of the hospital today and back on the sidelines for the Huskies' second-round game on Saturday against Texas A&M.

Calhoun, 66, spoke with the team (via speaker phone on his son Jeff's Blackberry) after the game.

"I got to make him laugh a little bit," said Thabeet. "I told him I only had two blocks today, and he laughed, so that's a good sign that he's feeling good. We miss him. He prepared us for this."

Thabeet was sitting in the arena's end zone seats with most of the rest of his teammates, watching Thursday's early Texas A&M-BYU game when he got a text message from a friend: "What's wrong with your coach?"

Said Thabeet: "I was like, 'I don't know.' I had to walk back here and talk to the coaches. They told us that and everybody was kind of down. We just huddled up and said, 'OK, we're going to go hard, as if he's here.' Whenever he's around, he pushes you, he wants you to work hard. Today was one of those days."

Blaney said he was on his way from the team hotel to the arena at around 11:45 a.m. when Calhoun called him and told him he wasn't feeling well and that he might not coach the game. He got a call shortly thereafter from Dr. Anderson, who told Blaney that Calhoun would not be coaching.

A CBSsports.com report that Calhoun may miss more than just Thursday's opener was labeled "absolutely ridiculous" by UConn spokesman Kyle Muncy.

UConn played as freely and loosely as it has in a while on Thursday. That's not uncommon in the few games Calhoun has missed over the past couple of seasons.

"From the outside looking in, everybody thinks it's impossible to play under coach because he's a yeller and a screamer," said Price. "What he is is a motivator. Some people respond better to him yelling at them, myself being one of them. The overall feeling is not that we're more loose, but that we're determined to win the game because he's not with us."

Added Thabeet: "Everybody has their way of teaching. He wasn't there, but I could see him on the bench and hear his voice telling me, 'Hasheem, you've got to get that rebound!'"

***Here's the Register's early game story, along with video of Austrie and Thabeet talking about Calhoun and the game itself.

***Austrie's shooting woes continued (0-for-8) but he made Chattanooga leading scorer Stephen McDowell's day nearly as woeful. Austrie held McDowell to 1-for-12 shooting and a mere two points – on a harmless layup with 9 minutes, 22 seconds left to play – and had associate head coach George Blaney marveling at the effort afterwards.

"You've seen coach's teams play for so many years and have witnessed great defensive players – Ricky Moore, Taliek Brown," said Blaney. "That was one of those kind of performances, in my mind."

Said Austrie: "That's great company, I don't mind it. I just wanted to go out there and stop this guy."

McDowell, who shot 43 percent from 3-point territory this season, was 0-for-7 from that distance on Thursday.

***For a team that got handed a 56-point beatdown, the third-worst in NCAA tournament history, Chattanooga was a little … well, chatty during the game.

"They talk a little too much out there," said Jeff Adrien. "I feel like if you want to talk to us, we can talk back and play basketball. You can't talk back and play basketball, because we're just in your head and we're just that much better than you."

At one point in the first half, referee Dwayne Gladden had to tell Chattanooga's Kevin Goffney to "keep your mouth shut" as Stanley Robinson stepped to the foul line. Late in the opening half, Mocs coach John Shulman was hit with a technical foul for arguing a no-call against Hasheem Thabeet.

And, in the early minutes of the latter half, Chattanooga's Nicchaeus Doaks pushed Adrien hard on a rebound, and the two had to be separated.

"It was unnecessary roughness," said Adrien. "It's not football. It was unnecessary, I don't know what was wrong with him. I never said anything in the game. He wanted to run me over. It didn't faze me, it's just a dumb foul on you. Everybody in the world saw you run into me like an idiot. They're going home, I'm not, so I feel good. That's all I have to say."

***Of Robinson's 11 field goals, seven came on dunks – many of them alley-oops from Austrie.

***Little-used sophomore guard Donnell Beverly played the game's final eight minutes, looking pretty good while scoring seven points and doling out five assists.

***Kemba Walker's had promised us writers that he'd throw down a dunk at some point this season, and he finally delivered with 2:44 to play on a two-handed fast-break throwdown.

***Cheshire's John Lindner missed his chance at glory, missing an inside hoop while being fouled with 48.6 seconds left, then missing both free throws.

***A couple of times during the game, Inga Price (A.J.'s mom) led the UConn cheering section in a "U-C-O-N-N" cheer, a la "Big Red" at the XL Center.

"I think that's the first time I've ever caught her doing that one," A.J. said with a smile. "It won't be the last for sure."

***UConn's point-differential was the third-highest in Big Dance history. Only Kansas's 110-52 win over Prairie View on March 13, 1998, and Loyola's 111-42 drubbing of Tennessee Tech on March 11, 1963 were more lop-sided.

***Now it's on to Texas A&M, which beat BYU, 79-66, in Thursday's opener. The Aggies hit their first 10 shots from the floor against the BYU's zone and never looked back.

"Their shooters got hot early," Price noted. "Once they got hot, they were making shots throughout the game. That's going to be something we'll look at."

Alas, Texas A&M's victory means no more Cougars in Philly. Unless Demi Moore, Madonna or Nicolette Sheridan are in town.

Calhoun in Hospital

2009-03-19T17:15:00.000-04:00

Jim Calhoun was admitted Thursday afternoon to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, will remain in the hospital overnight for observation and is listed in good condition.

Calhoun was accompanied to the hospital by UConn Director of Sports Medicine Dr. Jeff Anderson and was admitted this afternoon.

"I have been feeling lousy for the past several days and this morning talked to Dr. Anderson about it," said Calhoun. "He recommended that I not coach in the game today and stay back at the hotel. As the day went on, he suggested that we go over to the hospital to have some testing done. Fortunately, those tests have all gone well and I am feeling much better. I will stay the night as a precaution and anticipate being checked again in the morning and being able to leave the hospital at that time."

Impressive

2009-03-19T16:15:00.001-04:00

Wow. Impressive. A 48-20 halftime lead, a 25-2 run (despite six straight missed free throws from Jeff Adrien). I honestly thought Chattanooga would put up a better fight than this. The Mocs had one field goal over the final 12 minutes of the opening half.

UConn is simply too big, too talented, too … everything for the Mocs. The Huskies are getting the ball inside effectively, and when Hasheem Thabeet or Adrien don't have a shot, they're kicking it out effectively to guards for open jumpers. And the guards, for the most part, are hitting them.

And Chattanooga is yapping a little bit. At one point, referee Dwayne B. Gladden told Moc forward Kevin Goffney to "keep your mouth shut" while yapping at Stanley Robinson as Robinson stepped to the free throw line. A.J. Price smiled like an assassin as he pulled up for the third of his three straight 3-pointers during a 10-0 personal run midway through the half. 'Nooga coach John Shulman got T'd up after complaining that Thabeet wasn't called for a foul on a blocked shot with 3:45 left.

There's one other thing worth noting here: the Huskies tend to play a lot freer and looser when Jim Calhoun is not on the sidelines, and that's the case today. The man is a Hall of Fame coach, one of the greatest of all time. But, at least initially, UConn players seem a little less nervous, a little less gun-shy about getting yanked after one mistake, when Calhoun isn't on the bench.

Not to say this will continue if Calhoun isn't able to coach any of UConn's ensuing games (and by most accounts, that doesn't seem like it will be the case), but for at least this afternoon, this seems to be a much more relaxed Husky squad.

More on Calhoun ...

2009-03-19T14:41:00.004-04:00

Jim Calhoun's son, Jeff, said he saw his father this morning at the team hotel and asked if he wanted him to stay with him rather than go to Wachovia Center for today's game. Jim Calhoun said don't worry about it, so we're assuming this illness isn't too serious.

A list of games that Jim Calhoun has either missed or left early over his 23 seasons at UConn:

1. Dec. 23, 1990 vs. Fairfield (HCC) W 94-70 Flu-like symptoms, chest pain

2. Feb. 22, 1993 vs. Maine (HCC) W, 108-72 Food-related

3. Jan. 29, 1994 at Pittsburgh W, 88-67 pneumonia symptoms

4. Feb. 1, 1994 at Syracuse L, 108-95 pneumonia symptoms

5. Nov. 24, 1998 vs. Hartford (HCC) W, 95-58 intestinal virus

6. March 11, 1999 vs. UT-San Antonio W, 91-66 intestinal virus

7. Jan. 3, 2000 vs. Sacred Heart (HCC) W, 83-56 stomach cramps

8. Feb. 3, 2001 vs. Virginia Tech (GP) W, 85-72 light-headedness, flu-like symptoms

9. Feb. 5, 2002 vs. Providence (HCC) W, 67-56 food-related

10. Feb. 5, 2003 vs. Virginia Tech L, 95-74 prostate surgery

11. Feb. 8, 2003 at Providence W, 84-68 prostate surgery

12. Feb. 10, 2003 vs. Syracuse (HCC) W, 75-61 prostate surgery

13. Feb. 15, 2003 at Villanova L, 79-70 prostate surgery

14. Feb. 19, 2003 vs. Rutgers (HCC) W, 87-70 prostate surgery

15. March 20, 2004 vs. DePaul (left and returned) W, 72-55 flu-like symptoms

16. Jan. 16, 2006 at Syracuse W, 88-80 dehydration

17. Jan. 13, 2007 at St. John's (MSG) (left and returned) W, 68-59 flu-like symptoms

18. Jan. 8, 2008 vs. St. John's W, 81-65 dehydration, light-headedness, fatigue

19. Jan. 12, 2008 vs. Georgetown L, 72-69 intestinal virus

20. Jan. 3, 2009 vs. Rutgers W, 80-49 flu-like symptoms, shingles

21. March 19, 2009 vs. Chattanooga ????????????????????????????????

Calhoun Won't Coach Today

2009-03-19T13:25:00.005-04:00

This from UConn sports information a minute ago:

University of Connecticut head men's basketball coach Jim Calhoun will not coach today's NCAA Tournament First Round contest against Chattanooga at Wachovia Center.

"Coach Calhoun has not been feeling well for the past several days and it is best that he not coach the team today for precautionary reasons," said UConn Director of Sports Medicine Dr. Jeff Anderson.

Dr. Anderson is with Coach Calhoun, who is not expected to be at the arena for the game today. Associate head coach George Blaney will direct the UConn team today in Coach Calhoun's absence.

A CBSsportsline.com report that Calhoun may miss more than just today's opener was labeled "absolutely ridiculous" by UConn men's basketball media relations director Kyle Muncy.

The last time Calhoun missed an entire NCAA tournament game was on March 11, 1999, for a first-round game against Texas-San Antonio. Calhoun was sidelined by an intestinal virus, and associate head coach Dave Leitao led UConn to a 91-66 win.

Calhoun left a second-round tourney game against DePaul on March 20, 2004, only to return later in the game. The Huskies beat the Blue Demons (who were coached, ironically, by Leitao), 72-55.

Philadelphia Freedom

2009-03-18T16:52:00.004-04:00

Greetings from Philadelphia, home of Rocky Balboa, Will Smith, Rasheed Wallace, Sun Ra, Hall and Oates, Geno Auriemma, Kobe Bryant, the Iggles, 76ers, Flyers and world-champion Phillies (and Soul!). And a lot of historical figures, too.

Day One of the NCAA tournament got off to a slow start … literally. The wireless Internet ($16.50 per writer!) took quite a while to get going this morning. Lots of writers couldn't get on, and those that could were met with glacially slow Internet access. Nothing worse than a bunch of disgruntled writers who can't get on the Internet they (well, their company) is paying for.

But, the problem was solved, and everything's good.

Here's some news, notes and quotes from the Wachovia Center, where UConn will face upset-minded (and very loosey-goosey) Chattanooga tomorrow around 3 p.m.:

*** Craig Austrie will return to the starting lineup this afternoon. Freshman Kemba Walker started over the slumping Austrie in Thursday's Big East tourney loss to Syracuse.

"Craig and I have a very close relationship," said UConn coach Jim Calhoun. "He's always been the guy that, 'OK, now you're going to start after not starting 12 games, or you're going to have to sit because Marcus (Williams) is coming.' He's always been there as a guy, a player, a teammate. I took him in my office (and told him), 'I really believe in you … much more than you do.'"

Calhoun said he told Austrie, "You start on Monday in practice and you carry it, you'll start Thursday. He's had three good practices."

Austrie will start off guarding Mocs leading scorer Stephen McDowell, who canned 135 3-pointers this season.

***Here's a Register video of A.J. Price talking about the challenges UConn faces tomorrow, and a bunch of other stuff.

***It will be one year ago on Saturday that Price's season was unceremoniously ended by a torn ACL in the Huskies' first-round loss to San Diego. He went through long months of rehab to get back in time for the start of this season, but even he marvels at what Chattanooga's Khalil Hartwell has gone through.

Midway through last season, Hartwell tore his ACL in a game against Davidson. He finished the game but sat out the next four, and it seemed obvious his season was over.

However Hartwell begged to keep playing. Doctors eventually gave him the OK and, wearing a knee brace, he finished out the Mocs' season, even going for a career-high 19 point and 11 rebounds in a win over College of Charleston.

"I wasn't the same player, it took me a while to get adjusted to the brace," Hartwell said. "But I was still able to get out there and give some good minutes, help my team get some more victories. My team was better off with me than without me."

Hartwell added that his ACL was "completely torn. They said I might have had an old injury before, then all of a sudden after hyperextending it, it completely tore. The doctor said in the next 30 years, he may never see anything like that again, that it was a miracle what I was able to do with a torn ACL."

Count Price as being impressed.

"I know how difficult it is to come back from an ACL injury. So, for him to do that, that is really impressive."

Could Price have done the same thing?

"I don't think so. That does say a lot about him."

***Jimmy Fallon is picking Chattanooga to win the NCAA tournament this season. That's certainly funnier than most of his Weekend Update performances.

*** The Hasheem Thabeet Factor could be huge tomorrow.

Opposing centers going up against Thabeet for the first time – or one of the first times – in their career don't normally have good results. Last season, Notre Dame's Luke Harangody got off to a good start against Thabeet, but had three quick shots blocked after halftime and went 0-for-8 in the second half. This season, Louisville freshman Samardo Samuels appeared completely intimidated by Thabeet's presence, going scoreless in 19 minutes of play.

"Two shots," Price noted. "Two shots."

Indeed, Samuels took just two shots all night.

"It's almost like a 'wow' factor," Price added. "The first time (they) get on the court with him, they realize he's very athletic. He's not your typical 7-3 guy, if there is a typical 7-3 guy. He's very different. People that play against him for the first time, even in the Big East … it is very difficult for them to react and adjust on the fly."

Such is Chattanooga's challenge this afternoon.

"We can't back down, but we've got to be smart," said Shulman. "We're not going to sit there and challenge him all night long at the basket. A lot of people tried that. If it doesn't work for some of the Big East people, trust me, it doesn't work for Chattanooga. We have to make sure he goes this way, away from the basket, make him defend a little bit away from the basket."

According to Thabeet, the feeling-out process works both ways. Here's what he has to say about that -- and Jimmy Fallon's prediction -- in a Register video.

***Register columnist Dave Solomon doesn't believe ducks can fly. Geese, even turkeys, sure, but he insists ducks can't fly. Can someone please straighten him out?

Austrie to Start

2009-03-18T14:33:00.004-04:00

Craig Austrie will start for UConn in tomorrow's NCAA tournament first-round game with Chattanooga. This according to freshman point guard Kemba Walker, who started over Austrie in the Huskies' six-overtime loss to Syracuse on Thursday night.

Much more to come from Philly ...

Don't Mock the Mocs

2009-03-16T15:24:00.008-04:00

It's amazing, the more you hear about a team you've never seen play, from both common opponents and the team itself, the better that team seems to get. If you're not careful, you might seriously start thinking Tennessee-Chattanooga can pull off the upset of UConn on Thursday.

Back to reality. A team that lost to Fairfield by 19 early in the season (the same Fairfield that was popped by UConn by 20 a month later) can't really be a serious threat to the Huskies, can they? Can they really become the first 16-seed to beat a 1?

Well, no. But here are a few things that might at least make UConn fans at least a little nervous:

The Mocs don't seem like they'll be intimidated. "We've all seen (UConn) play, they're on ESPN and SportsCenter every night," said senior forward Nicchaeus Doaks. "We'd laugh about it, all throughout the year, if we played against UConn in the tourney, what we're going to do against Adrien, Thabeet, Price ... Now, those jokes are going to be realilty in the coming week. We'll just play with our hearts, do what we do, and we'll look up at scoreboard and maybe there'll be a surprise."
And this from Chattanooga coach John Shulman: "We'll have great preparation this week. If I haven't prepped team to get a win against UConn, I've done my team a disservice."
Stephen McDowell can flat-out shoot the rock. He averaged 18.6 points per game this season and shot the 3-pointer at a 43.4 percent rate! Said Fairfield coach Ed Cooley: "McDowell can single-handedly keep you in the game, the way he shoots the ball. That would be the one thing that Connecticut must be aware of. I don’t think they’re going to get second shots on Conn. Like they do at our level."
Doaks (a 6-7 forward) and 6-5 guard Kevin Goffney also score in double figures, while guard Khalil Hartwell averages 9.1. Cooley was also impressed with 6-6 athletic junior guard Ty Patterson, who averages 8.4 points off the bench. "To me, it's all about McDowell and (Patterson)," said Cooley.

When the Mocs began their season with losses to Tennessee, Missouri, Memphis, USC (all tourney teams) and Fairfield, they did so without Goffney, whom Shulman labeled "our MVP and best player." Goffney fractured his ankle less than a minute into the Tennessee game. He missed eight games, but since his return, the Mocs have been much better.
Hartwell tore his ACL in a game last year against Davidson. The following week, he went to Shulman and said, "Coach, I want to brace it up and play." Shulman said no way; Hartwell insisted. So, he braced up his knee and played out the rest of the season, notching a couple of double-doubles, then had surgery after the season. What does this have to do with the UConn game? Nothing. But it sure tells you that this kid has some heart and toughness.

Worried yet? Don't be. The Mocs have a few things to worry about, as well. For instance:

UConn doesn't lose to teams it's supposed to beat -- at least not in the past two seasons. Seriously, other than Georgetown this year and San Diego last year, when's the last time you were shocked at one of its losses? And San Diego was obviously good enough to be a tourney team, so that shouldn't even count.
Fairfield held McDowell to seven points on 2-for-9 shooting by face-guarding him all over the floor.
The Mocs have never faced anyone like Thabeet before. "He's a little different than what we see every day," said Shulman. "We've got a 7-1 guy (Jeremy Saffore), but trust me he's not 273 ... We are prepared. I am inside-oriented guy, so we're prepared. We're not as physical as Pitt. We can't be (DeJuan) Blair, we can only be who we are. "
Chattanooga is 5-10 on the road this season and 0-3 on neutral courts.
The Mocs don't have much size down low. "There’s no answers for their interior guys," said Cooley. "Doaks is good, but good at the mid-major level and good at the high-major level is a different kind of good. If I go to a party with Denzel Washington, I’ve got no chance. I'll end up with Roseanne Barr."

Will the fat lady sing for UConn on Thursday? Nope. But the Mocs aren't going to go down without a fight.

Special NCAA Section

2009-03-16T09:35:00.002-04:00

The Register will feature a special NCAA tournament section on its website, featuring stories, videos, etc. throughout UConn's run. (Yes, I'll be wielding a web camera while in Philly and beyond. Should be interesting. And expect some Podcasts from Dave Solomon, too).

All Aboard!

2009-03-15T21:17:00.015-04:00

Some notes & quotes from Selection Sunday at Gampel Pavilion, where UConn learned it's the No. 1 seed in the West and will face Tennessee-Chattanooga on Thursday in Philly:

Jim Calhoun: "Even in 2004, as good as we were, we were a two-seed. And we won a national championship. This is an objective committee saying that they're one of the four best teams in America. That's a nice thing to be able to hang up on your wall."

Calhoun admitted he thought the loss of Jerome Dyson might have an impact on whether the Huskies got a top seed or a No. 2 seed.

"I was nervous that they were going to make that a factor ... but I think the body of our work was just too strong, and all those wins on the road – at Louisville, at Marquette, at Gonzaga – those things really hold an awful lot of weight. I think they had a tough time turning that down, the fact that we were just so strong on the road."

Memphis got the No. 2 seed in the West and, obviously, would face the Huskies in the Regional finals if both are able to get that far.

***Following UConn's marathon, six-overtime loss to Syracuse Thursday night/Friday morning, Calhoun was oddly critical of his team -- even saying, at one point in the post game presser, "We didn't come to play."

But upon a couple of days of reflection at his Madison home, he has come to realize what a special game that truly was.

"I’m still probably really upset, because I think when you play the sport and they keep score, you should try to win. (But) I really came to appreciate, without any prompting … just how proud I was of our kids, and just the grit they showed. I don't think they showed great execution, but in a game like that, you can almost throw that aside.

"From Hash diving, at 7-foot-3, to get a loose ball and call a timeout, to Gavin (Edwards) coming in and blocking shots, to A.J. stepping up big-time, to Stanley … and to Syracuse's kids. I think every kid was truly tested in an athletic sense. Never have I been involved with a greater test with what an athlete has inside."

In fact, Calhoun even felt the loss to Syracuse may have actually benefited the Huskies in the eyes of the tournament selection committee.

"I'm not so sure the six-overtime (game) didn't tell them, 'I think this team's body of work is great, but they also have some grit to them.' That might have helped us, in a strange sort of way."

"As we leave for Philadelphia on Tuesday, I know I'm taking a pretty gritty bunch of guys. I knew that, to some degree, with all the road wins. But given the circumstances, I'm just so proud of them, I really am."

Jeff Adrien learned something about his team against Syracuse.

"That we don't quit. We fight very hard to the end. A lot of teams could have quit, maybe in the third overtime. But we kept fighting, and obviously Syracuse kept fighting, too. It showed that guys really wanted it, and we weren't going out without a good fight. It's very unfortunate that we didn't come out on the winnings side, but it definitely was a great experience."

Adrien believes that's something that will carry over into the NCAA tournament. Calhoun agrees.

"As we leave for Philadelphia on Tuesday, I know I'm taking a pretty gritty bunch of guys," said the coach. "I knew that, to some degree, with all the road wins. But given the circumstances, I'm just so proud of them, I really am."

***Both of UConn's national titles, in 1999 and 2004, came out of the West Region. Of course, so did last year's first-round exit to San Diego.

***UT-Chattanooga earned an automatic bid by beating the College of Charleston in the Southern Conference tournament finals. Calhoun watched that game with interest because his close friend, Bobby Cremins, coaches College of Charleston.

"They're a very, very quick basketball team," Calhoun said of the Mocs. "They'll come at us, they seem fearless. We know that Texas A&M and BYU are there, but they're there for Chattanooga, too."

Calhoun likened Chattanooga scoring leader Stephen McDowell to Miami's Jack McClinton.

***Injuries may have had an effect on several teams' seedings, including North Carolina, which was the third overall seed -- due in part, most likely, to the questionable status of point guard Ty Lawson.

"They probably called Carolina, and Carolina probably gave the same answer I would have, that he'll be fine for next week. I'm sure he'll play, there doesn't appear to be anything broken."

***Don't tell Adrien he's in a slump.

"Slump? I don't feel like I'm in a slump. I definitely may be, since Jerome's gone, he had helped me out a little bit with maybe finding me a little more or whatever it was. But there's other ways of scoring and helping my team on defense. I've just got to figure it out. I've done it before, and I'll do it again."

***A.J. Price's father, Tony, helped Penn (not Princeton, as I originally wrote) to a Final Four in 1979.

"He'd always say that was easy, and I need to take it one step further," said A.J. "That's this team's goal to try to get to Detroit and play in that Final Four."

***Price's only personal NCAA tourney memory came last year, when he tore his ACL nine minutes into the eventual overtime loss to San Diego.

"You definitely want to get out there more than nine minutes," he said.

Sixty-one again, A.J.?

"Not that long."

***Just went from the media room into the Gampel gym to make a cell phone call, and there was Craig Austrie, hours after the rest of his teammates had left, working on his jump shot. Don't tell me he's not trying.

UConn Gets No. 1 Seed in West

2009-03-15T18:43:00.003-04:00

So UConn gets the No. 1 seed in the West Region, edging out Memphis. I thought the opposite might be the case, but then I've never considered myself much of a Bracketologist.

UConn will play No. 16 seed Tennessee-Chattanooga in its first-round game on Thursday in Philadelphia. The only other time the Huskies have pleyd the Mocs was on March 16, 1995, in another NCAA tournament first-round game. UConn won that game easily, 100-71. Going scoreless with one rebound in one minute of play in that one for UT-Chattanooga? T.O. himself, Terrell Owens.

The Mocs are led by Stephen McDowell, a 5-11 grad student who averages 18.6 points per game. Nicchaeus Dokes, a 6-7, 239-pound senior forward, averages 13.9 points and 8.7 rebounds.

More to come ...

Numbers to Chew On

2009-03-13T20:06:00.006-04:00

The Register invites you to share your memories and/or experiences of Thursday night/Friday morning's epic, 6-overtime UConn-Syracuse Big East quarterfinal game.

Meanwhile, here's some numbers from and thoughts on the game to chew on:

It's been such a long time. It was tied for the second-longest known Division 1 college basketball game in history, following only Cincinnati's 75-73, seven-overtime win over Bradley on Dec. 21, 1981.
Three is a magic number. It was just the third six-overtime game in college basketball history.
The elapsed time of the game was three hours, 46 minutes.
It was the fifth multiple-OT game and the longest game in Big East tournament history, eclipsing a three-OT thriller in the 1981 championship game. Syracuse won that one, too, 83-80 – thanks to a last-second shot by Leo Rautins, father of current Orange guard Andy Rautins, who buried six 3-pointers and 20 points on Thursday.
Iron Man. Last year, Syracuse point guard Jonny Flynn posted a stretch of 313 consecutive minutes played, which featured seven straight complete games. He played the entire game in 11 of the Orange's final 16 games. But he truly outdid himself on Thursday, logging 67 of the game's 70 minutes.
Iron-clanging man. Arinze Onuaku is as bad a foul shooter that the Big East has ever seen. He shot 36-for-120 (30 percent) from the line this season. In conference play, he was even worse: a hideous 16.7 percent (10-for-60). Yet sure enough, in a tie game with 2 minutes, 4 seconds left to play in regulation, Onuaku calmly stepped to the line and swished a pair of free throws to give Syracuse a 66-64 lead. Naturally, they were the only two freebies he hit in five attempts on Thursday.
Better late than never. Amazingly, Syracuse never held a lead in the first five overtime periods. It trailed by as much as four in the first OT, three in the second, six in the third, two in the fourth and four in the fifth. The Orange's first lead after regulation came on Rautins' 3-pointer 11 seconds into the sixth OT, and they never looked back.
Despite the above-mentioned fact, UConn showed plenty of moxie coming back from the brink in regulation. The Huskies trailed by seven with just under 4 minutes to play, by four with 1:23 left and, of course, by two until Kemba Walker's putback with 1.1 seconds to play.
Windmill City. With 7:45 left in the first half, Gavin Edwards blocked an Eric Devendorf shot. Kemba Walker grabbed the loose ball and hit a wide-open Stanley Robinson, who sailed in for a windmill jam that put a jolt in the crowd. As soon as Robinson's arm cocked back in windmill mode, Calhoun hopped off the bench, ready to yank Robinson from the game for such unnecessary showmanship. But when the dunk went down, Calhoun regained his composure and let Robinson stay in. Good thing. Without Robinson (28 points, 14 rebounds) UConn would have likely lost in regulation. (Or maybe that's not a good thing).
Walker, a freshman, made just his second collegiate start and first since Nov. 17 against Hartford (when A.J. Price sat out with a high ankle sprain). He started over slumping senior Craig Austrie, who hadn't hit a 3-pointer in three weeks. Walker tried to do a little too much and struggled (4-for-18 from the floor, five turnovers). But he did grab 11 rebounds, none bigger than the offensive stickback he made with 1.1 seconds left in regulation, helping to send the game into OT.
Austrie's shooting woes continued (2-for-13), but his only field goals were huge: a 3-pointer with 7:37 left in regulation that tied the game at 54, and a 3-pointer with 1:02 left in regulation that brought UConn to within a point.
Hasheem Thabeet was called for traveling at one point in the second half. Jim Calhoun shouted to official John Cahill, how made the call. "John!" Calhoun shouted. Cahill turned around. "Good call," the coach said. Don't see that every day.
244: Number of combined points scored by the two teams, easily shattering the prior Big East tournament record of 189 (Villanova 97, Pittsburgh 93, 2OT on March 4, 1998).
209: Combined number of field goal attempts by both teams.
82: Combined number of field goals.
58: Combined 3-point attempts.
70: Number of minutes in the six-overtime game.
67: Number of minutes that Flynn played. ("I can't even feel my legs right now" – Flynn, after the game)
61: Number of minutes UConn's A.J. Price played. ("I felt as best as you probably can feel after six overtimes" – Price, after the game)
34: Points scored by Flynn.
33: Points scored by Price.
27: UConn turnovers.
22: Number of rebounds by Syracuse's Paul Harris.
78.4: Syracuse's team free throw percentage for the game (40-for-51).
64.2: Syracuse's team free throw percentage for the season.
57.1: UConn's team free throw percentage for the game (24-for-42). ("The players are probably exhausted, I'm not. I could practice right now. Foul shooting, probably" – Calhoun)
16: Number of free throws hit by Flynn, in 16 attempts.
8: Number of players who fouled out (four on each team).
4: Number of UConn players with double-doubles.
1: Still UConn's regional seeding for next week's NCAA tournament? Maybe not.
1: Number of Big East tournament wins by the team I covered in six trips to Madison Square Garden (four for Providence, two for UConn). It's all my fault, sorry.

PRE-GAME PRIMER: Kemba to Start?

2009-03-12T19:41:00.004-04:00

Greetings from the World's Most Famous Arena, where the Stones recorded their famous 'Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out' shows in 1969, where Led Zeppelin recorded its 'Song Remains the Same' film in 1973, and where The Who sold out four straight nights in 1974 after just a single radio announcement. (Other famous shows: George Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh, John Lennon's impromptu onstage jam with Elton John, Concert for New York shortly after 9/11).

***It looks like Kemba Walker could in the starting lineup tonight. During the Pitt-West Virginia game, two UConn assistant coaches told me they believed that Jim Calhoun would start Walker over Craig Austrie. But both coaches also admitted that Calhoun himself probably isn't 100-percent sure who he'll start at that particular time, however.

Calhoun apparently called out Austrie in practice the other day, telling the senior he's got to step up. Austrie went out and had a terrific practice, after which Calhoun told him that if he continues to play that way, UConn can really do a little something.

Still, it appears Austrie may have to do his damage off the bench tonight.

Wouldn't be shocked to see a big night from Walker. The New York native shined in his last appearance at Madison Square Garden – a scintillating 21-point, four-assist, five-rebound effort in a Jan. 15 win over St. John's (granted, it was St. John's). Walker was dealing with a strep throat earlier in the week, but he practiced with the team on Wednesday and should be good to go tonight.

***Quiz time: What solo artist holds the record for most MSG performances, with 60? And who holds the record for most performances by a band, with 52 (from 1979 through 1994)?

***That's all I've got for now. May add a something off the Pitt-West Virginia game a little later. "Incompetent" Wally Rutecki is one of the officials in this one.

Interesting Quinnipiac Poll Results

2009-03-11T10:09:00.002-04:00

Sorry to bring this up again. Hopefully this will put an end to the whole "not a dime back" saga:

University of Connecticut men’s basketball coach Jim Calhoun scores a slam dunk as Connecticut residents say 61 – 30 percent that he should keep all of his $1.6 million salary, rather than donate a portion to help with the state’s economic problems, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. (From March 3 – 8, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,335 Connecticut adults with a margin of error of +/- 2.7 percentage points).

By a 68 – 12 percent margin, Connecticut residents have a favorable opinion of Calhoun, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds.

His salary is “about right,” 48 percent say, while 43 percent say it is “too much.”

A total of 69 percent of Connecticut residents heard or read “a lot” or “some” about Calhoun’s response to a question about his salary asked at a recent press conference. Of that group, 51 percent approve of the way the coach answered the question, while 43 percent disapprove.

Those who know about the press conference say 80 – 16 percent that Calhoun should not be disciplined for the way he answered the question.

When asked if they are fans of UCONN’s men’s basketball team, 54 percent of Connecticut residents say yes.

Now, Nutmeg Staters (I just moved here about eight months ago, so I'm still new to this), you're going to have to explain this to me:

But in an open-ended question, where respondents can give any answer, Connecticut residents were asked: What is your favorite Connecticut-based sports team. Results are:
· 29 percent for UCONN’s women’s basketball team;
· 22 percent for UCONN’s men’s basketball team;
· 3 percent for UCONN football.

Men go with the men’s team over the women’s team 28 – 21 percent, while women back the women’s team 36 – 16 percent.

Gotta admit, I can't wrap my head around this one. I've never quite understood the attraction of women's basketball here in Connecticut ... or anywhere, for that matter. I know the team is as dominant as any women's team has ever been this year, but seriously ... women's basketball? Unwatchable, in my book. Why would I want to watch basketball played at a level no better than what I could watch in a decent local men's recreational league?

Seriously -- I hear women's basketball fans say thing like: "The men might dunk, but the 'girls' play the game the way it's supposed to be played. There's more teamwork, better passing, they hit their free throws," blah, blah, blah. Please.

Ever watch A.J. Price play? Levance Fields? Blake Griffin? Jonny Flynn? The skills at the men's level are so much better, it's not even worth discussing. And the athleticism ... come on. Do I need to see dunking? Well, yeah ... it's exciting to see Stanley Robinson throw down an alley-oop slam off a pinpoint pass from Price. It's nice to see the game played at a level I could never dream of playing at, rather than a level I used to play at in high school. (Yes, I'm of the opinion that a good high school boys basketball team could beat a good women's college team at least more times than it loses).

Ahh, had to get that off my chest. Sorry, the whole thing just boggles my mind. Bring on the hate mail.